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A  COLLECTION 

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INTRODUCTION 
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VOLUMES  IN  THE 

ilibcr^itie  art  M>mt$ 

EDITED    BY    ESTELLE    M.    HURLL 

1.  RAPHAEL.  7.    GREEK   SCULPTURE. 

2.  REMBRANDT.  8.    TITIAN. 

3.  MICHELANGELO.  9.     LANDSEER. 

4.  MILLET.  10.    CORREGGIO. 

5.  REYNOLDS.  II.    TUSCAN    SCULPTURE. 

6.  MURILLO.  12.    VAN    DYCK. 

Each,  illustrated,  crown  8vo,  Library  Edition,  gilt 
top,  75  cerfts,  net;  postage,  8  cents.  School  Edition, 
50  cents,  net ;  postpaid. 

PUBLISHED  BY 

HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN     COMPANY 

BOSTON  AND   NEW   YORK 


From  an  Engraring  by  Frank  Cousins 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  So. 


THE  CONNOISSEURS 
Property  of  King  Edward  VII 


W)t  EitierjsiDe  art  ^eriess 


LAJNTDSEER 


A  COLLECTION  OF  FIFTEEN  PICTUEES 

AND  A  PORTRAIT  OF  THE  PAINTER 

WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND 

INTERPRETATION 

BY 

ESTELLE  M.  HURLL 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

(9rbe  J^ftjcrsibe  pre??,  dambribge 


•«r»v--> 


COPYRIGHT,    I90I,    BY   HOUGHTON,    MIFFLIN   &   Ca 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


Published  November^  igoi. 


PREFACE 

The  wide  popularity  of  Landseer  has  been  chiefly- 
due  to  the  circulation  of  engravings  after  his  works. 
This  little  book  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  first  attempt  to 
bring  together  a  collection  of  his  pictures  made  in  the 
modern  process  of  half  tone,  from  photographs  direct 
from  the  original  paintings.  It  is  hoped  that  they  may 
give  a  fairly  good  idea  of  the  range  and  character  of  his 

art. 

ESTELLE  M.  HURLL. 

New  Bedford,  Mass. 
September,  1901. 


CONTENTS  AND  LIST  OF  PICTURES 

FAQB 

The  Connoisseurs.     Painted  by  Landseer  .    (Frontispiece) 

Picture  from  Engraving  by  Frank  Cousins 
Introduction 

I.  On  Landseer's  Character  as  an  Artist   .        .    vii 

II.   On  Books  of  Reference x 

ni.  Historical  Directory  of  the  Pictures  of  this 

Collection x 

IV.  Outline   Table   of  the    Principal  Events  in 

Landseer's  Life xii 

V.  Some  of  Landseer's  Contemporaries     ....  xiii 
I.   King  Charles  Spaniels       1 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

II.   Shoeing 7 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

III.  Suspense 13 

Picture  from  Photograph  of  the  original  Painting 

IV.  The  Monarch  of  the  Glen 19 

Picture  from  Engraving  by  Thomas  Landseer 

V.  The  Twa  Dogs 25 

Picture  from  Photograph  of  the  original  Painting 

VI.   Dignity  and  Impudence 31 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

VIL  Peace 37 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

VIII.   War 43 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

IX.  A  Distinguished  Member  of  the  Humane  Society    49 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

X.  A  Naughty  Child 55 

Picture  from  Photograph  of  the  original  Painting 


CONTENTS  AND  LIST  OF  PICTURES 

XI.  The  Sleeping  Bloodhound 61 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

XII.   The  Hunted  Stag 67 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 

XIII.  Jack  in  Office 73 

Picture  from  Photograph  of  the  original  Painting 

XIV.  The  Highland  Shepherd's  Chief  Mourner  ...    79 

Picture  from  Photograph  of  the  original  Painting 

XV.  A  Lion  of  the  Nelson  Monument 85 

Picture  from  Photograph  by  Franz  Hanfstaengl 
XVI.  The  Connoisseurs 91 


INTRODUCTION 


I.    ON  LANDSEER'S  CHARACTER  AS  AN  ARTIST. 

If  the  popularity  of  a  painter  were  the  measure  of  his 
artistic  greatness,  Sir  Edwin  Landseer^s  would  be  among 
the  foremost  of  the  world's  great  names.  At  the  height 
of  his  career  probably  no  other  living  painter  was  so 
familiar  and  so  well  beloved  throughout  the  English-speak- 
ing world.  There  were  many  homes  in  England  and 
America  where  his  pictures  were  cherished  possessions. 

While  popular  opinion  is  never  a  safe  basis  for  a  critical 
estimate,  it  must  be  founded  on  reasons  worth  considering. 
In  the  case  of  Landseer  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  large 
element  in  his  success  was  his  choice  of  subjects.  The 
hearts  of  the  people  are  quickly  won  by  subjects  with 
which  they  are  familiar  in  everyday  life.  A  universal 
love  for  animals,  and  especially  for  domestic  pets,  prepared 
a  cordial  welcome  for  the  painter  of  the  deer  and  the  dog. 
His  pictures  supplied  a  real  want  among  the  class  of 
people  who  know  and  care  nothing  about  "  art  for  art's 
sake." 

The  dramatic  power  with  which  Landseer  handled  his 
subjects  was  the  deeper  secret  of  his  fame.  He  knew  how 
to  tell  a  story  with  a  simple  directness  which  has  never 
been  surpassed.  With  almost  equal  facility  for  humor 
and  pathos,  he  alternated  between  such  inimitable  satire 
as  the  Jack  in  Office  and  such  poignant  tragedy  as  the 
Highland  Shepherd's   Chief  Mourner.     Before   pictures 


viii  LANDSEER 

like  these,  the  keenest  criticism  must  confirm  the  popular 
verdict.  Poetic  imagination  is  one  of  the  most  coveted 
of  the  artist's  gifts,  and  Landseer's  rich  endowment  com- 
mands universal  admiration. 

The  artist  who  is  a  story  teller  finds  it  one  of  the  most 
difficult  tasks  to  keep  within  proper  limits.  He  is  under 
a  constant  temptation  to  emphasize  his  point  too  strongly, 
to  exaggerate  his  meaning  in  order  to  make  it  plain. 
That  Landseer  never  fell  into  such  error  none  would 
dare  to  claim.  In  interpreting  the  emotions  of  dumb 
animals  he  sometimes  overdrew,  or  seemed  to  overdraw, 
their  resemblance  to  human  beings.  Only  those  who  have 
observed  animals  as  closely  as  he  —  and  how  few  they 
are  —  are  competent  to  decide  in  this  matter.  When 
one  thoroughly  considers  the  question,  the  wonder  is  less 
that  he  sometimes  made  mistakes,  than  that  he  made  so 
few.  As  a  sympathetic  critic  has  said  :  "  Nothing  short 
of  the  most  exquisite  perception  of  propriety  on  his  part 
could  have  enabled  him  to  give  innumerable  versions  of 
the  inner  life  of  animals  with  so  little  of  the  exaggera- 
tion and  fantasticalness  which  would  have  easily  become 
repugnant  to  the  common  sense  of  Englishmen."  ^ 

Among  Landseer's  technical  qualities  the  critic  has 
highest  praise  for  his  drawing.  He  was  a  born  draughts- 
man, as  we  see  in  the  astonishing  productions  of  his  boy- 
hood. He  was  besides  a  painstaking  and  faithful  student 
in  the  youthful  years  when  the  foundations  of  good  work 
must  be  laid.  Another  valuable  quality  was  his  artistic 
discrimination,  that  which  a  certain  critic  has  called  "  the 
selective  glance  that  discerns  in  a  moment  what  are  the 
lines  of  character  and  of  life."  Seizing  these,  he  trans- 
ferred them  to  his  canvas  in  the  decisive  strokes  which 
reproduce  not  merely  the  body  but  the  vitality  of  the 
subject. 

1  Henrietta  Keddie  ("  Sarah  Tytler  "). 


INTRODUCTION  he 

His  dexterity  in  texture-painting  was  remarkable.  The 
glossy  coat  of  the  bay  mare,  the  soft  long  hair  of  the 
Newfoundland  dog,  the  polished  surface  of  metal,  were 
rendered  with  consummate  skill.  There  are  marvellous 
tales  of  the  rapidity  of  his  workmanship.  In  the  moment 
of  inspiration  his  practised  hand  made  the  single  telling 
brush  stroke  which  produced  the  desired  effect. 

With  apparently  little  systematic  effort  towards  orderly 
composition,  he  often  felt  his  way  instinctively,  as  it  were, 
to  some  admirable  arrangements.  He  sometimes  showed 
a  feeling  for  pose  almost  plastic  in  quality,  as  when  he 
painted  A  Distinguished  Member  of  the  Humane  Society 
and  The  Sleeping  Bloodhound.  His  sense  of  the  pictur- 
esque is  quite  marked.  He  was  fond  of  sparkle,  and 
disposed  very  cleverly  the  points  of  bright  light  in  his 
pictures. 

Landseer's  admirers  are  wont  to  regret  that  he  devoted 
himself  to  so  limited  a  range  of  subjects.  The  patronage 
of  the  rich  absorbed  much  of  his  time  in  unimportant 
work,  —  time  which  might  better  have  been  spent  in  those 
works  of  creative  imagination  of  which  he  showed  himself 
capable.  His  pictures  of  deer  subjects  reveal  an  other- 
wise unsuspected  power  in  landscape-painting  which  with 
cultivation  might  have  led  him  into  another  field  of  suc- 
cess. In  portrait-painting,  too,  his  work  was  admirable, 
especially  in  the  delineation  of  children. 

It  is  idle  to  speculate  upon  what  he  might  have  been 
had  he  not  been  what  he  was.  Much  greater  artists 
than  he  might  well  envy  him  his  unique  fame.  To  excep- 
tional artistic  ability  he  united  a  sympathetic  imagination 
which  divined  some  of  the  most  precious  secrets  of  com- 
mon life.  It  was  his  peculiar  glory  that  he  touched  the 
hearts  of  the  people. 


X  LANDSEER 

II.  ON  BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE. 

In  the  year  following  Landseer's  death  (i.  e.,  in  1874), 
a  memoir  of  the  painter  was  published  by  F.  G.  Stephens, 
made  up  in  part  of  material  previously  issued  by  the 
writer  on  the  Early  Works  of  Landseer.  A  few  years 
later  (in  1880),  this  memoir  served  in  turn,  as  the  sub- 
stantial material,  revised  and  somewhat  enlarged,  for 
Stephens'  biography  of  Landseer  in  the  series  "  Great 
Artists."  Besides  Stephens,  Cosmo  Monkhouse  has  de- 
voted valuable  critical  work  to  the  art  career  of  Land- 
seer. Full  of  suggestive  and  illuminating  comment  is  his 
large  volume  "  The  Works  of  Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  with 
a  History  of  his  Art  Life."  The  book  is  illustrated. 
Valuable  chapters  on  Landseer  are  in  "  The  Art  of  Paint- 
ing in  the  Queen's  Reign,"  by  A.  G.  Temple,  London, 
1897,  and  in  "Animal  Painters  of  England,"  by  Sir 
Walter  Gilbey,  London,  1900. 

An  interesting  article  on  Landseer's  art  appeared  in 
"The  British  Quarterly  Review"  soon  after  his  death, 
and  was  reprinted  in  Littell's  "  Living  Age,"  December 
26,  1874.  Comments  on  the  artist's  pictures  and  methods 
are  scattered  throug-h  the  works  of  Ruskin  and  Hamerton. 
A  catalogue  of  Landseer's  works  was  issued  by  Henry 
Graves,  London,  1875. 

III.    HISTORICAL   DIRECTORY  OF  THE  PICTURES  OF 
THIS   COLLECTION. 

The  Connoisseurs.  Painted  in  1865.  The  property 
of  King  Edward  VII. 

1.  King  Charles  Spaniels.  Painted  in  1832,  accord- 
ing to  the  authority  of  F.  G.  Stephens.  Monkhouse  gives 
the  date  as  1845.  In  the  National  Gallery,  London. 
Size  :  2  ft.  3^  in.  by  2  ft.  11^  in. 

2.  Shoeing.     Exhibited  in  1844.     Bequeathed  by  Mr. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

Jacob  Bell  to  the  National  Gallery,  London,  where  it  now 
hangs.     Size  :  4  ft.  8  in.  by  3  ft.  8  in. 

3.  Suspense,  Exhibited  in  1834.  In  the  South  Ken- 
sington Museum,  London.  Size  :  2  ft.  11|  in.  by  2  ft. 
3J  in. 

4.  The  Monarch  of  the  Glen.  Painted  in  1850  or 
1851.  Bought  in  1897  by  Mr.  T.  J.  Barratt  of  Hamp- 
stead,  England.     Size :  5  ft.  4  in.  by  5  ft.  6  in. 

5.  The  Twa  Dogs,  Signed  E.  L.  1822.  In  the 
South  Kensington  Museum,  London.  Size:  1  ft.  9  in. 
by  1  ft.  4f  in. 

6.  Dignity  and  Impudence.  Exhibited  in  1839.  Be- 
queathed by  Mr.  Jacob  Bell  to  the  National  Gallery, 
London,  where  it  now  hangs.  Size  :  2  ft.  11^  in.  by  2  ft. 
31m. 

7.  Peace.  Exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy,  in  1846. 
In  the  National  Gallery,  London.  Size  :  2  ft.  10  in.  by 
4  ft.  4  in. 

8.  War.  Exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy,  in  1846. 
In  the  National  GaUery,  London.  Size :  2  ft.  10  in.  by 
4  ft.  4  in. 

9.  A  Distinguished  Member  of  the  Humane  Society, 
Exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy,  in  1838.  In  the  National 
Gallery,  London.     Size  :  3  ft.  6^  in.  by  4  ft.  7  in. 

10.  A  Naughty  Child.  Exhibited  at  the  British  In- 
stitution, in  1834.  In  the  South  Kensington  Museum, 
London.     Size :  1  ft.  3  in.  by  11  in. 

11.  The  Sleeping  Bloodhound.  Exhibited  at  the 
British  Institution  in  1835.  Bequeathed  by  Mr.  Jacob 
Bell  to  the  National  Gallery,  London,  where  it  now  hangs. 
Size :  3  ft.  3  in.  by  4  ft.  1  in. 

12.  The  Hunted  Stag.  Exhibited  at  the  Royal  Acad- 
emy, in  1833.  In  the  National  Gallery,  London.  Size  : 
2  ft.  31  in.  by  2  ft.  Ill  in. 

13.  Jack  in  Office,     Exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy, 


xii  LANDSEER 

in  1833.     In   the   South  Kensington   Museum,  London. 
Size  :  2  ft.  2  in.  by  1  ft.  7f  in. 

14.  The  Highland  Shejoherd's  Chief  Mourner,  Ex- 
hibited at  the  Koyal  Academy,  in  1887.  In  the  South 
Kensington  Museum,  London.     Size :  2  ft.  by  1  ft.  6  in. 

15.  A  Lion  of  the  Nelson  Monument.  Commission 
received  in  1859.  Lions  set  up  in  Trafalgar  Square, 
1868. 

IV.    OUTLINE  TABLE   OF  THE   PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 
IN  LANDSEER'S  LIFE. 

1802.     Landseer  born  in  London. 

1815.  "  Honorary  Exhibitor  "  at  Koyal  Academy,  studies 

under  Haydon. 

1816.  Admittance  to  Royal  Academy  as  student. 

1817.  Portrait  of  Brutus  exhibited. 

1818.  Fighting  Dogs  exhibited. 

1822.     Premium  of  <£150  awarded  by  Directors  of  British 
Institution  for  Larder  Invaded. 

1824.  First  visit  to  Highlands  and  to  Sir  Walter  Scott 

at  Abbotsford. 
Cat's-Paw  exhibited. 

1825.  Removal  to  house  in  St.  John's  Wood,  London. 

1826.  Associate  of  Royal  Academy. 
1830.     Royal  Academician. 

1834.     Landseer's  highest  level  in  art;  Suspense  exhibited. 

Higliland   Shepherd   Dog    rescuing  Sheep   from 
Snowdrift. 
1837.     Highland  Shepherd's  Chief  Mourner. 
1840.     Travel  on  Continent. 
1843.     The  Sanctuary. 
1846.     Peace ;  and  War. 

The  Stag  at  Bay. 
1848.  A  Random  Shot. 
1850.     Knighthood  conferred. 


INTRODUCTION 

1853.     Gold  medal  from  Paris  Exhibition. 

1859.  Commission  for  lions  of  Nelson  Monument. 

1860.  Flood  in  the  Highlands. 

1868.  Lions  placed  in  Trafalgar  Square. 

1869.  The  Swannery  Invaded. 
1873.     Death,  October  1. 

Funeral  in  St.  Paul's,  October  11. 


V.    SOME  OF  LANDSEER'S  CONTEMPORARIES. 

Artists  :  — 

Sir  Charles  Eastlake,  1793-1865  "^ 

C.  K.  Leslie,  1794-1859. 

Henry  Fuseli,  1741-1825. 

William  Mulready,  1786-1863.      !>      Painters. 

J.  M.  W.  Turner,  1775-1851. 

Benjamin  West,  1738-1820. 

Sir  David  Wilkie,  1785-1841. 

John  Gibson,  sculptor,  1790-1866. 

Thomas  Landseer,  engraver,  1796-1880. 

AUTHOES  :  — 

Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning,  1809-1861. 

Kobert  Browning,  1812-1889. 

Lord  Byron,  1788-1824. 

Charles  Dickens,  1812-1870. 

George  Eliot,  1819-1880. 

eTames  Hogg,  1770-1835. 

Walter  Savage  Landor,  1775-1864. 

John  Ruskin,  1819-1900. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  1771-1832. 

Tennyson,  1809-1892. 

Thackeray,  1811-1863. 

Wordsworth,  1770-1850. 


KING    CHARLES    SPANIELS 

Edwin  Henry  Landseer  was  the  most  gifted 
member  of  a  family  of  artists.  His  father  was  a 
well-known  engraver,  and  his  brother  Thomas  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  same  profession.  As  soon 
as  he  could  hold  a  pencil,  the  boy  Edwin  began  to 
draw.  The  family  were  then  hving  in  the  outskirts 
of  London,  and  there  were  open  fields  near  the 
house.  Here  the  future  animal  -  painter  used  to 
spend  long  afternoons  sketching  cows  and  sheep, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  day  his  father  would  criticise 
his  work. 

At  an  early  age  the  young  artist  began  to  show  a 
preference  for  the  dog  above  other  animals.  A 
drawing  of  a  foxhound  made  when  he  was  five  years 
old  is  still  exhibited  as  a  remarkable  production.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  became  a  pupil  at  the  Royal 
Academy,  "  a  bright  lad  with  light  curling  hair,  and 
a  very  gentle,  graceful  manner  and  much  manliness 
withal."  The  following  year  all  the  critics  were  sur- 
prised when  he  exhibited  an  admirable  portrait  of  a 
dog  called  Brutus.  The  painter  Fuseli  was  at  this 
time  at  the  head  of  the  Academy,  and  was  very  fond 
of  his  precocious  pupil,  whom  he  playfully  called 
his  "  little  dog  boy,"  in  reference  to  the  Brutus. 


2  LANDSEER 

It  was  by  means  of  another  dog  picture  that 
the  artist  took  his  next  step  towards  fame.  "  The 
Fighting  Dogs  "  was  a  remarkable  work  for  a  painter 
sixteen  years  old,  and  upon  its  exhibition  in  1818 
it  was  purchased  by  an  English  nobleman.  This 
was  the  real  beginning  of  Landseer's  professional 
career,  and  from  this  time  forward  his  success  was 
assured. 

It  became  a  fashion  among  people  of  means  to 
bring  their  dogs  to  Landseer  for  their  portraits. 
He  even  counted  royalty  among  his  patrons,  paint- 
ing the  favorite  pets  of  Queen  Victoria  and  her  hus- 
band, Prince  Albert. 

The  spaniels  of  our  picture  were  the  pets  of  a 
certain  Mr.  Vernon,  who  not  unnaturally  deemed  the 
beautiful  little  creatures  a  worthy  subject  for  a  mas- 
ter's brush.  This  kind  of  dog,  as  its  name  implies, 
is  supposed  to  have  come  originally  from  Spain. 
Both  Stuart  kings,  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.,  were 
specially  fond  of  the  breed,  each  having  a  favorite 
variety.  One  of  the  dukes  of  Marlborough  was 
also  a  lover  of  spaniels,  and  imported  into  England 
the  variety  called,  from  his  palace,  the  Blenheim. 
The  difference  of  color  between  the  King  Charles 
and  the  Blenheim  is  seen  in  the  picture,  the  former 
being  black  and  tan,  with  a  few  white  touches  ;  the 
other  white,  with  spots  of  liver  color.  Both  have 
characteristic  silky  coats,  round  heads,  big  lustrous 
eyes  set  wide  apart,  and  long  ears  hanging  in  folds. 

The  little  dogs  lie  side  by  side  on  a  table.  The 
Blenheim  has  his  paws  over  the  edge,  resting  his 


CO       ^ 


KING   CHARLES   SPANIELS  5 

nose  comfortably  upon  them.  The  King  Charles 
nestles  upon  the  brim  of  a  high-crowned  hat  orna- 
mented with  a  long  ostrich  plume  drooping  over  the 
brim.  Such  a  hat  was  worn  among  the  Cavahers 
or  king's  party  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I. ;  hence 
the  title  of  the  Cavalier's  Pets/  often  given  to  the 
picture.  The  hat,  it  must  be  understood,  serves  an 
important  artistic  purpose  in  the  composition,  the 
height,  from  crown  to  feather  tip,  relieving  the  other- 
wise flat  effect  of  the  picture. 

The  attention  of  the  dogs  seems  attracted  by  some 
object  across  the  room.  It  is  the  painter  talking  to 
them  soothingly  over  his  sketch  :  he  has  learned  the 
secret  of  dog  language.  As  his  pencil  moves  rapidly 
over  the  paper,  they  watch  him  with  wide  eyes,  full 
of  wonder  but  with  no  fear.  They  are  like  spoiled 
children  gazing  at  a  visitor  with  an  expression  half 
wilful,  half  beseeching.  The  fresh  ribbon  bows 
they  wear  are  evidence  of  the  fond  care  bestowed 
upon  them. 

'Though  the  spaniel  is  not  of  the  highest  order  of 
canine  intelligence,  it  is  an  affectionate  and  lovable 
pet  often  known  to  fame  in  distinguished  company. 
Tradition  has  it  that  it  was  one  of  these  little  crea- 
tures which  followed  the  unfortunate  Mary  Stuart 
to  the  executioner's  block  — 

"  The  little  dog  that  licked  her  hand,  the  last  of  all  the  crowd 
Which  sunned  themselves  beneath  her  glance  and  round  her  footsteps 
bowed." 

^  The  idea  suggested  in  this  title  is  made  the  basis  of  an  imaginary 
story  woven  about  the  picture  in  Sarah  Tytler's  little  book,  Landseer^s 
Dogs  and  their  Stories. 


6  LANDSEER 

It  is  also  supposed  that  Sir  Isaac  Newton's  little  dog 
Diamond  was  a  spaniel,  the  mischief-maker  who  de- 
stroyed his  master's  priceless  calculations,  and  drew 
from  the  philosopher  the  mild  exclamation,  "  Dia- 
mond, Diamond,  thou  little  knowest  the  mischief 
thou  hast  done."  Again,  it  was  a  spaniel  whom 
Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  cherished  as  the  com- 
panion of  weary  hours  of  illness  and  confinement. 
The  charming  verses  to  Flush  celebrate  the  dog's 
beauty  and  affection. 

The  history  of  our  picture  illustrates  Landseer's 
remarkable  facility  of  workmanship.  After  making 
the  first  sketch  at  Mr.  Vernon's  house  in  Pall  Mall, 
the  painter  was  for  a  long  time  too  busy  to  do  any 
further  work  upon  it.  One  day  artist  and  patron 
chanced  to  meet  upon  the  street,  and  the  former  was 
reminded  of  his  promise.  The  sketch  was  taken 
out  and,  two  days  later,  the  finished  painting  was 
dehvered  to  the  owner.  The  picture  lost  nothing, 
however,  by  the  haste  with  which  it  was  executed. 
A  competent  critic  (Cosmo  Monkhouse)  has  said  that 
Landseer  never  excelled  it  as  a  piece  of  painting. 
Much  praise  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  few  dexter- 
ous strokes  which  have  so  perfectly  reproduced  the 
texture  of  the  plume  on  the  hat.  Even  in  the  black 
and  white  reproduction  we  can  appreciate  some  of 
the  best  points  of  the  picture. 


II 

SHOEING 

At  the  blacksmith's  shop  the  bay  mare  Betty  is 
being  fitted  to  new  shoes.  Already  the  fore  feet  are 
nicely  shod  and  the  blacksmith  now  has  the  near 
hind  foot  in  hand.  The  other  occupants  of  the 
place  are  a  small  donkey  and  the  bloodhound  Laura. 

Betty  is  a  sensible  horse  and  enjoys  the  shoeing 
process.  When  the  time  comes  around  for  her  reg- 
ular visit  to  the  forge,  she  walks  off  of  her  own 
accord  and  unattended  to  the  familiar  spot.  No 
halter  is  necessary  to  keep  her  standing ;  in  fact,  she 
would  not  tolerate  such  an  indignity.  She  takes 
her  place  by  the  window  as  if  perfectly  at  home. 

Blacksmith  and  horse  are  old  friends  who  under- 
stand each  other  well.  The  man  has  won  the  ani- 
mal's confidence  by  the  care  he  has  taken  to  fit  the 
shoes  comfortably.  Though  a  plain,  rough  fellow, 
he  is  of  a  kindly  nature  and  knows  his  business 
thoroughly. 

The  shop  is  a  quaint  little  place  such  as  one  finds 
in  English  villages.  The  thick  masonry  of  the  walls 
shows  how  old  the  building  is ;  the  floor  is  paved 
with  large  blocks  of  stone.  Between  the  anvil  and 
the  forge  there  is  only  space  enough  for  the  horse 
to  stand.     Yet  all  the  necessary  tools  are  at  hand, 


8  LANDSEER 

and  a  good  blacksmith  may  shoe  a  horse  as  well  here 
as  in  the  most  elaborate  city  establishment. 

At  this  stage  of  the  process  the  preparations  are 
all  over.  The  old  shoes  were  first  removed  and  the 
feet  pared  and  filed.  New  shoes  were  chosen  as 
near  the  right  size  as  possible,  and  one  by  one 
shaped  for  each  foot.  Holding  the  shoe  in  his  long 
tongs,  the  blacksmith  thrusts  it  into  the  fire,  while 
he  fans  the  flames  with  the  bellows.  Thence  it  is 
transferred,  a  glowing  red  crescent,  to  the  anvil. 
Now  the  workman  swings  his  hammer  upon  it  with 
ringing  strokes,  the  sparks  fly  out  in  a  shower,  and 
the  soft  metal  is  shaped  at  will.  The  shoe  may  be 
made  a  httle  broader  or  a  little  longer,  as  the  case 
may  be ;  bent  a  trifle  here  or  there,  to  accommodate 
the  foot  to  be  fitted.  The  steel  toe  calk  is  welded 
in,  the  ends  are  bent  to  form  the  heels,  the  holes 
for  nails  are  punctured,  the  shoe  taking  an  occa- 
sional plunge  into  the  flames  during  these  pro- 
cesses. 

Now  there  must  be  a  preliminary  trying-on.  The 
shoe  still  hot  is  held  to  the  foot  for  which  it  is  in- 
tended, and  the  air  is  filled  with  the  fumes  of  burn- 
ing hoof.  Yet  the  horse  does  not  flinch,  for  the 
thick  hoof  is  a  perfect  protection  for  the  sensitive 
parts  of  the  foot.  If  the  careful  blacksmith  is  not 
quite  satisfied  with  the  fit,  there  must  be  more  ham- 
mering on  the  anvil,  and  another  trying  on.  When 
the  shoe  is  satisfactory,  it  is  thrust  hissing  into  a 
barrel  of  cold  water,  and,  cooled  and  hardened,  is 
ready  to  be  nailed  on. 


Fr.  HaorilirD);!,  photo. 


SHOEING 
National  Gallery,  London 


SHOEING  11 

It  is  at  this  point  in  the  story  that  we  come  upon 
Betty.  The  farrier,  after  the  approved  method  of 
his  trade,  holds  the  foot  firmly  between  his  knees, 
and  bends  to  his  task.  The  nails,  long  and  flat, 
are  in  the  tool-box  on  the  floor  beside  him.  A 
few  firm  blows  of  the  hammer  drive  each  one  into 
place,  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other  ;  the  pro- 
jecting points  are  twisted  off  every  time,  and  finally, 
all  the  rough  ends  are  filed  smoothly  on  the  outside 
of  the  hoof.  Betty  is  at  last  fully  shod  and  will 
step  complacently  home. 

Our  painter  has  arranged  the  four  figures  of  the 
picture  in  a  sort  of  circular  composition,  so  that  we 
may  see  each  one  in  a  characteristic  pose.  The  bay 
mare  is,  of  course,  the  chief  attraction,  a  fine  high- 
bred creature,  with  straight  legs,  arching  neck,  and 
gentle  face  marked  on  the  forehead  with  a  pure 
white  star.  Landseer  exerted  his  utmost  skill  in 
reproducing  the  texture  of  the  glossy  hide.  Its 
beautiful  sheen  is  more  striking  by  contrast  with  the 
shaggy  hair  of  the  donkey.  It  was  a  clever  thought 
to  place  this  plebeian  little  beast  beside  the  aristo- 
cratic, high-spirited  horse. 

The  donkey  bends  his  head  in  a  deprecating  way 
below  Betty's  handsome  neck,  and  the  horse  permits 
the  companionship  of  an  inferior  with  gentle  toler- 
ance. There  is  something  very  appealing  about 
the  donkey,  a  patient  little  beast  of  burden,  meekly 
bearing  his  saddle.  The  bloodhound  shows  no  little 
curiosity  as  to  the  shoeing  process,  as  if  it  were  some- 
thing new  to  her.     She  sits  on  her  haunches,  thrust- 


12  LANDSEER 

ing  her  head  forward,  the  long  ears  drooping,  the 
sensitive  nose  sniffing  the  strange  odors. 

Among  these  dumb  companions  the  blacksmith 
feels  himself  surrounded  by  friends.  He  is  a  lover 
of  pets,  as  we  see  by  the  birdcage  hanging  in  the 
window.  His  sturdy  frame  looks  equal  to  the  de- 
mands of  his  trade,  which  are  in  fact  very  laborious. 
It  is  grimy  work,  and  only  the  roughest  clothes  can 
be  worn.  A  big  leather  apron  with  a  cut  down 
the  middle  is,  as  it  were,  his  badge  of  office.  Our 
farrier  does  his  work  with  conscientious  earnestness, 
concentrating  all  his  thought  and  energy  upon  each 
blow  of  the  hammer.  The  task  completed,  he  will 
take  an  honest  pride  in  the  good  piece  of  work  he 
has  done  for  Betty. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  old  Betty's  owner 
was  Mr.  Jacob  Bell,  an  intimate  friend  and  business 
adviser  of  Landseer. 


Ill 

SUSPENSE 

A  WOUNDED  knight  has  been  brought  home  to 
his  castle^  and  a  Hne  of  blood-stains  on  the  floor 
shows  where  he  was  carried  through  the  hall  to  the 
room  beyond.  The  family  and  servants  press  after, 
the  door  is  closed,  and  the  favorite  hound  is  shut  out 
in  the  hall  alone.  Only  the  meaningless  murmur  of 
voices,  broken  perhaps  by  the  groans  of  his  master, 
tells  what  is  going  on  within.  It  is  a  moment  of 
suspense,  and  the  dog  waits  with  drooping  head,  and 
eyes  fixed  mournfully  on  the  barrier  which  separates 
him  from  the  object  of  his  devotion.^  So  alert  is 
every  sense  that  at  the  sHghtest  touch  upon  the  door 
he  will  spring  forward  and  push  his  way  in. 

It  is  some  such  story  as  this  which  the  painter 
tells  us  in  the  picture  called  Suspense.^  Every  detail 
is  full  of  meaning  to  the  imagination.  The  heavy 
door,  studded  with  great  nails,  calls  to  mind  the  old 
Norman  castle ;  the  gauntlets  on  the  table  and  the 
plume  on  the  floor  suggest  the  armor  of  the  mediaeval 
knight.     The  picture  is  like  an  illustration  for  one 

^  A  similar  situation  is  described  in  the  story  of  Boh,  Son  of  Battle, 
where  the  shepherd  dog  waits  in  suspense  outside  the  sickroom  of  his 
mistress. 

2  A  pretty  imaginary  story  is  woven  about  the  picture  in  Sarah 
Tytler's  little  book,  Landseer^s  Dogs  and  their  Stories. 


14  LANDSEER 

of  Scott's  novels.  Our  knight  may  have  been 
wounded,  like  Ivanhoe,  in  a  tournamento  The  scene 
of  the  lists  rises  before  us,  the  opposite  lines  of 
mounted  knights  charging  upon  each  other  with 
their  lances,  the  shock  of  the  meeting,  the  unhors- 
ing of  many,  the  blows  of  the  battle  axe  upon  helmet 
and  coat  of  mail,  and  finally  the  entrance  of  the 
squires  to  bear  their  wounded  masters  to  a  place  of 
safety. 

The  hound  had  no  part  in  the  sports  of  the  tour- 
ney, but  the  scene  of  his  glory  was  the  chase. 
When  the  knight  went  forth  for  a  day's  hunting  in 
the  forest,  the  whole  pack  went  with  him,  waking 
the  woodland  echoes  with  their  baying.  Some  famil- 
iar verses  tell  of 

"  The  deep-mouthed  bloodhound's  heavy  bay 
Resounding  up  the  rocky  way, 
And  faint  from  farther  distance  borne, 
The  echo  of  the  hoof  and  horn." 

The  dogs'  deHcate  sense  of  smell  enables  them  to 
track  game  with  unerring  precision.  It  seems  im- 
possible to  exhaust  their  perseverance  or  their  wind, 
and  it  is  surely  not  their  fault  if  a  hunting-party 
returns  unsuccessful. 

While  hunting  brings  out  the  more  ferocious  ele- 
ments of  the  nature,  the  hound  is  on  the  other  hand 
capable  of  an  affectionate  devotion  which  makes  him 
a  valued  friend  of  man.  The  Enghsh  country  gen- 
tleman is  a  lover  of  dogs  and  horses,  and  knows  how 
to  appreciate  their  good  qualities.  Out  of  the  many 
animals  in  his  kennels  one  dog  is  usually  a  chosen 


SUSPENSE  17 

favorite  which  becomes  his  master's  inseparable  com- 
panion. Such  a  favorite  is  the  dog  of  our  picture, 
and  we  like  to  fancy  that  the  knight  is  worthy  the 
love  of  so  noble  a  creature. 

The  hound  is  represented  in  his  best  and  noblest 
aspect :  all  the  forces  of  his  being  seem  concentrated 
in  loving  anxiety.  It  is  as  if  suffering  brought  out 
in  the  dog's  nature  those  higher  qualities  by  which 
he  is  allied  to  human  beings.  His  countenance  is 
intensely  expressive  yet  thoroughly  canine.  Every 
line  of  the  drawing  brings  out  the  dog's  character,  — 
the  squat  of  the  haunches,  the  position  of  the  legs 
far  apart,  the  rising  of  the  hair  on  the  crest  of  the 
back,  the  droop  of  the  head,  the  flattening  of  the 
tail. 

The  broad  collar  with  the  ring  is  a  symbol  of  his 
subjection.  The  privilege  of  man's  friendship  has 
cost  the  dog  his  freedom.  To  offset  the  hours  of 
dehghtful  companionship  with  his  friendly  master 
are  the  weary  times  when  he  must  tug  impotently  at 
the  chain  which  keeps  him  within  the  castle  enclo- 
sure. 

It  has  been  said  that  Landseer  looked  upon  most 
animals  with  the  eyes  of  the  artist,  the  poet,  and  the 
natural  historian,  but  the  dog  alone  he  painted  as  a 
friend.  Our  picture  is  good  evidence  of  the  truth 
of  the  statement.  Every  resource  of  the  painter's 
art  was  lavished  upon  his  favorite  subject  with  the 
loving  care  that  one  gives  only  to  a  friend. 

The  massive  size  of  the  dog  is  seen  by  comparing 
the  figure  with  the  height  of  the  table  and  the  door. 


18  LANDSEER 

The  great  creature  practically  fills  the  canvas.  The 
pose  is  so  finely  conceived,  the  figure  itself  so  ad- 
mirably "  modelled/'  to  use  the  critic's  phrase,  that 
it  seems  almost  like  a  work  of  sculpture.  The  fight 
and  shadow  are  carefully  studied.  The  light  seems 
to  come  from  some  source  at  the  right,  bringing 
out  strongly  the  expressiveness  of  the  dog's  face. 
Landseer,  we  are  told,  was  fond  of  introducing 
into  his  pictures  a  bit  of  sparkling  metal.  Here  the 
reflected  fight  on  the  gauntlets,  like  that  on  the 
spurs  beside  the  King  Charles  Spaniels  and  on 
the  helmet  near  the  Sleeping  Bloodhound,  add^  an 
effective  touch  to  the  composition. 

Suspense  has  been  a  popular  favorite  among 
Landseer's  works,  and  is  one  of  the  pictures  referred 
to  in  the  Memorial  Verses  published  in  "  Punch  " 
after  the  artist's  death.  This  is  the  stanza  describ- 
ing it :  — 

"  The  lordly  bloodhound  with  pricked  ear, 
And  scent  suspicious,  watches  for  his  lord 
At  the  locked  door,  from  whose  sill,  trickling  clear, 
The  blood  bespeaks  surprise  and  treacherous  sword," 


IV 

THE    MONARCH    OF    THE    GLEN 

An  annual  visit  to  the  Scottish  Highlands  was  one 
of  Landseer's  pleasures.  It  was  here  that  he  learned 
to  know  the  habits  of  the  deer,  the  subject  of  many 
of  his  noblest  paintings.  His  first  journey  to  this 
region  was  as  a  young  man  of  twenty-two,  in  com- 
pany with  a  friend  and  fellow  painter,  LesHe.  An 
incident  of  the  excursion  was  a  visit  to  Abbotsford, 
the  home  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  The  painter  and  the 
novehst  had  much  in  common  in  their  attachment 
to  dogs,  their  fondness  for  vigorous  out-of-door 
exercise,  and  their  love  of  nature. 

Landseer  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  rugged 
grandeur  of  the  Highland  scenery.  Especially  was 
his  imagination  stirred  by  the  mountain  solitudes, 
the  haunt  of  the  deer,  which  Scott  had  described 
in  his  poems.  A  favorite  resort  was  the  valley  of 
Glencoe,  a  singularly  wild  and  romantic  spot  where 
a  long  narrow  ravine  is  shut  in  between  almost  per- 
pendicular hills. 

The  painter  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
deer  after  the  ordinary  manner  of  the  sportsman. 
For  sport  in  itseK,  however,  he  cared  Httle  or  no- 
thing ;  the  great  attraction  of  hunting  was  the 
chance  to  study  the  action  of  animals.     His  friends 


20  LANDSEER 

laughed  at  him  for  a  poor  shot,  but  his  true  weapon 
was  the  pencil,  not  the  gun.  One  day,  while  deer- 
stalking, just  as  a  magnificent  shot  came  his  way, 
the  gillies  were  astonished  to  have  the  painter  thrust 
the  gun  into  their  hands,  and  hastily  take  out  his 
sketch-book.  It  was  the  life  and  not  the  death  of 
the  animal  in  which  he  was  chiefly  interested. 

The  Monarch  of  the  Glen  seems  to  be  a  picture 
caught  in  just  this  way.  The  very  life  and  charac- 
ter of  the  animal  are  transferred  to  the  canvas  as  by 
a  snap  shot  of  the  camera.  The  stag  has  heard 
some  strange  sound  or  scented  some  new  danger, 
and,  mounting  a  hill,  looks  abroad  to  see  if  all  is  well. 
The  responsibihty  of  the  herd  is  his,  and  he  has  a 
tender  care  for  the  doe  and  the  young  deer.  He 
must  always  be  on  the  alert. 

His  attitude  reminds  one  of  Scott's  "  antlered 
monarch  "  in  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,"  which 

"  Like  crested  leader  proud  and  high 
Tossed  his  beamed  frontlet  to  the  sky  ; 
A  moment  gazed  adown  the  dale, 
A  moment  snuffed  the  tainted  gale." 

It  is  with  a  proud  sense  of  ownership  that  the 
monarch  surveys  his  domain.  With  head  erect  he 
seems  to  defy  the  whole  world  of  sportsmen.  Behind 
him  are  piled  the  massive  crags  of  the  mountain 
peaks,  with  the  mist  rising  from  the  valley  below. 
This  fog,  so  dangerous  to  the  traveller,  is  a  blessing 
to  the  deer,  tempering  the  heat  of  the  summer  sun 
and  hiding  him  from  his  enemy,  man.  It  appealed 
to  Landseer  on  account  of  its  weiid  sublimity,  and 


THE  MONARCH   OF  THE   GLEN  23 

he  liked  to  get  the  effect  of  it  in  his  landscapes,  espe- 
cially when  illumined  by  a  burst  of  sunlight. 

The  Monarch  of  the  Glen  is  a  splendid  specimen 
of  his  kind.  The  spreading  horns  above  his  head 
are  like  the  boughs  of  an  oak  tree.  We  know  from 
the  number  of  branches  that  he  is  seven  years  old. 
The  horns  are  developed  at  the  end  of  the  first 
year,  and  every  year  thereafter  are  displaced  by  new 
ones  with  an  additional  branch. 

The  large  ears  are  held  erect  as  if  the  animal  could 
fairly  see  with  them.  His  fine  eyes  scan  the  horizon 
with  a  searching  glance  which  misses  nothing.  His 
sensitive  nose  detects  from  afar  the  approach  of  any 
stranger  to  his  fastnesses.  The  end  is  always  moist, 
in  order  that  he  may  catch  the  way  of  the  wind,  as 
the  hunter  catches  it  on  his  moistened  finger.  His 
neck  is  ench'cled  with  a  heavy  mane,  falling  in  a 
broad  band,  like  the  collar  of  a  royal  order.  His 
body  is  rather  short,  thick,  and  round. 

The  legs,  which  are  seen  only  haK  their  length, 
seem  strangely  disproportioned  to  the  weight  of  so 
heavy  an  animal.  That  the  deer's  horns  are  so  large 
and  his  legs  so  small  are  two  perpetual  mysteries 
about  this  mid  creature.  An  amusing  fable  by  La 
Fontaine  relates  how  a  stag,  gazing  at  his  reflection 
in  the  water,  deplores  the  awkwardness  of  his  legs, 
and  admires  the  beauty  of  his  antlers.  A  moment 
later,  fleeing  for  his  Hfe,  he  learns  the  value  of  his 
despised  legs,  while  the  boasted  horns  impede  his 
progress  by  catching  m  the  branches  of  the  forest 
trees. 


24  LANDSEER 

The  speed  of  which  the  deer  is  capable  is  indeed 
marvelous.  He  adds  to  his  power  of  fleet  runnmg 
a  wonderful  trick  of  bounding  through  space.  It  is 
said  that  a  deer  may  leap  six  or  eight  feet  mto  the 
air,  and  cover  in  a  single  bound  a  distance  of  eigh- 
teen to  thirty  feet.  The  leap  is  performed  mthout 
apparent  haste  or  effort,  the  animal  rising  grace- 
fully into  the  air  by  a  tiny  toe-touch  of  the  dauity 
hoofs.  It  is  a  sort  of  wingless  flying.^  The  deer 
IS  besides  a  strong  swimmer,  and  lakes  and  streams 
are  no  obstacles  in  his  way. 

As  we  look  into  the  noble  face  of  the  Monarch  of 
the  Glen,  we  feel  a  sense  of  kinship  with  him,  Hke 
the  experience  of  Yan  in  the  beautiful  story  of 
"  The  Sandliill  Stag."  It  was  after  followhig  the 
trail  of  the  deer  many  days  that  the  youth  at  last 
came  suddenly  face  to  face  with  the  object  of  his 
desu-e,  "  a  wondrous  pair  of  bronze  and  ivory  horns, 
a  royal  head,  a  noble  form  behind  it."  As  they 
gazed  into  each  other's  eyes,  every  thought  of  mm- 
der  went  out  of  Yan's  heart,  and  gave  place  to  a 
strange  sense  of  fellowship.  "  Go  now  without 
fear,"  he  said,  "  but  if  only  you  would  come  some- 
times and  look  me  in  the  eyes,  and  make  me  feel  as 
you  have  done  to-day,  you  would  diive  the  wild 
beast  wholly  from  my  heart,  and  then  the  veil  would 
be  a  httle  di-awn,  and  I  should  know  more  of  the 
things   that  wise  men  have  prayed  for  knowledge 

1  See  The  Trail  of  the  Sandhill  Stag,  by  Ernest  Seton-Thompson, 
from  which  is  also  drawn  the  information  about  the  deer's  moist  nose. 


THE    TWA   DOGS 

The  Scotch  poet  Kobert  Burns,  who  died  a  few 
years  before  Landseer's  birth,  was  a  kindred  spirit 
of  the  painter  in  his  love  of  dogs  and  his  sense  of 
humor.  An  early  picture  by  Landseer  illustrating 
the  poem  of  "  The  Twa  Dogs  "  fits  the  verses  as  if 
painter  and  poet  had  worked  together.  We  are 
told  that  Burns  once  had  a  coUie  which  he  named 
Luath,  after  a  dog  in  Ossian's  "Fingal."  The 
favorite  came  to  an  untimely  end,  through  some 
one's  cruelty,  and  the  poet  was  inconsolable.  He 
determined  to  immortalize  Luath  in  a  poem,  and  this 
is  the  history  of  the  tale  of  "  The  Twa  Dogs." 

The  poem  relates  how 

"  Upon  a  bonny  day  in  June 
When  wearing  through  the  afternoon, 
Twa  dogs,  that  were  na  thrang  ^  at  hame, 
Forgather'd  anee  upon  a  time." 

Of  the  two  dogs,  one  is  the  colHe  Luath,  here  re- 
presented as  the  friend  and  comrade  of  a  plough- 
man.    He  is  described  in  broad  Scotch  as 

"  A  gash  2  and  faithf u'  tyke 
As  ever  lap  a  sheugh  ^  or  dike. 
His  honest,  sonsie,*  baws'nt  ^  face, 

^  Busy.  2  Knowing.  8  Ditch, 

*  Comely.  ^  White-striped. 


26  LANDSEER 

Aye  gat  him  friends  in  ilka  place. 
His  breast  was  white,  his  touzie  ^  back 
Weel  clad  wi'  coat  o'  glossy  black  ; 
His  gaucie  ^  tail,  wi'  upward  curl, 
Hung  o'er  his  hurdles  ^  wi'  a  swirl." 

Luatli's  companion  was  a  foreign  dog,  from  "  some 
far  place  abroad,  where  sailors  gang  to  fish  for  cod/' 
in  short,  Newfoundland.  He  was,  moreover,  a  dog 
of  "  high  degree,"  whose  "  locked,  lettered,  braw 
brass  collar  showed  him  the  gentleman  and  scholar." 
The  "  gentleman  "  is  appropriately  called  Caesar,  a 
name  commonly  given  to  Newfoundland  dogs. 

The  picture  carries  out  faithfully  the  poet's  con- 
ception of  both  animals.  Luath  is  here  to  the  very 
life,  with  shaggy  black  back,  white  breast,  and  honest 
face.  We  only  regret  that  his  position  does  not 
allow  us  to  see  the  upward  curl  of  his  bushy  tail. 
Caesar  is  a  black  and  white  Newfoundland  dog  with 
a  brass  collar.  The  model  is  said  to  have  been 
Neptune,  the  dog  of  a  certain  Mr.  Goshng.* 

Though  representing  opposite  stations  in  life. 
The  Twa  Dogs  were  excellent  friends.  On  this 
occasion,  weary  of  their  usual  diversions,  they  sat 
down  together  on  a  hillock 

"  And  there  began  a  lang  digression 
About  the  lords  o'  the  creation." 

It  is  Caesar  who  opens  the  conversation,  expressing 
curiosity  as  to  how  the  poor  man  can  endure  his  life. 
Luath  owns  that  the  cotter's  lot  is  a  hard  one,  but 

1  Shaggy.  2  Bushy.  ^  Hips. 

^  Two  years  later  (1824)  Landseer  painted  the  portrait  of  Mr. 
Gosling's  Neptune,  showing  head  and  shoulders  in  front  view. 


THE  TWA  DOGS  29 

declares  that  in  spite  of  poverty  and  hardships  the 
poor  are  "  maistly  wonderf u'  contented."  The  talk 
then  drifts  to  the  corruption  of  poHtics  and  the 
vices  of  the  rich.  Caesar  at  last  brings  it  to  an  end 
by  describing  the  wearisome  monotony  and  empti- 
ness of  the  fashionable  life. 

By  this  time  it  was  sundown,  and  the  two  friends 
separated,  rejoicing  "  that  they  were  na  men,  but 
dogs." 

The  contrast  between  the  two  canine  types  is 
well  brought  out  in  our  picture.  Even  the  attitudes 
show  their  opposite  temperaments.  The  collie  is  a 
somewhat  awkward  figure,  sitting  on  his  haunches, 
with  legs  far  apart,  nervously  alert.  The  Newfound- 
land dog  Kes  at  his  ease  with  one  paw  elegantly 
crossed  over  the  other.  They  talk  muzzle  to  muz- 
zle, the  one  long  and  pointed,  the  other  thick  and 
square. 

In  those  days  the  collie  was  chiefly  the  poor 
man's  dog,  the  indispensable  aid  of  the  shepherd,  and 
the  friend  of  the  laborer.  It  was  not  until  later 
years  that,  following  the  example  of  the  Queen, 
the  rich  began  to  notice  his  good  quahties,  and 
he  became  a  popular  favorite.  But  neither  Burns 
nor  Landseer  needed  to  be  taught  by  the  dictates 
of  fashion  to  understand  the  coUie's  fine  nature. 
The  dog  they  portrayed,  however,  was  not  the 
luxuriously  reared  pet  we  know  to-day,  but  the  un- 
kempt companion  of  humble  folk. 

The  Newfoundland  dog,  though  of  plebeian  origin, 
and  a  hard  worker  in  his  native  land,  is  generally 


30  LANDSEER 

regarded  as  an  aristocrat.  He  is  dignified,  gentle, 
and  kindly  in  nature. 

Both  dogs  are  very  sagacious,  and  the  painter  and 
poet  agreed  in  giving  them  the  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings of  human  beings.  In  the  picture  Caesar  seems 
to  be  describing  the  fashionable  revels  he  has  wit- 
nessed, while  honest  Luath  listens  in  amazement  to 
the  recital.  The  landscape  is  such  as  one  might  see 
in  Scotland.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  lies  a  lake, 
beyond  which  is  a  range  of  low  mountains. 

Two  years  after  painting  the  picture  of  The  Twa 
Dogs,  Landseer  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Ayr,  the  birth- 
place of  Burns,  and  rambled  about  the  spots  asso- 
ciated with  the  poet's  memory.  That  he  took  a 
peculiar  interest  in  the  subject  of  the  poem  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  over  thirty  years  after  he  painted 
it  a  second  time,  with  some  shght  variations. 


VI 

DIGNITY   AND    IMPUDENCE 

Any  one  with  a  sense  of  humor  must  often  be 
struck  by  the  resemblance  between  the  ways  of  dogs 
and  the  ways  of  men.  The  dignified  dog,  the 
vulgar  dog,  the  nervous  dog,  the  lazy  dog,  the  im- 
pudent dog,  are  all  types  of  which  there  are  many 
hmnan  counterparts.  The  dog,  indeed,  seems  at 
times  almost  to  mimic  the  manners  of  men.  So  in 
our  picture  of  Dignity  and  Impudence  we  are  at 
once  reminded  of  a  corresponding  situation  in  human 
life. 

The  hound  Grafton,  posing  as  Dignity,  lies  at 
the  entrance  of  his  kennel,  his  paws  overhanging 
the  edge.  His  handsome  head  is  held  erect  as  he 
surveys  an  approaching  visitor  with  the  air  of  an 
elderly  statesman  receiving  a  political  candidate. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  opinions  are  decid- 
edly conservative. 

A  smaU  Scotch  terrier  has  been  playing  about 
him,  having  no  awe  of  his  big  host,  but  making  him- 
seH  quite  at  home  in  his  cosy  quarters.  He  is  like 
a  froHcsome  child,  playing  about  the  statesman's 
chair,  while  the  old  gentleman  pursues  his  train  of 
thought  quite  undisturbed.     Now  at  the  sound  of 


32  LANDSEER 

approaching  footsteps  the  impertinent  creature  peeps 
forth,  with  the  curiosity  of  his  kind,  to  see  who  the 
newcomer  is.  His  tongue  is  thrust  halfway  out  at 
one  side  hke  that  of  a  saucy  street  boy  making 
faces  at  the  passers  by.  Though  Dignity  appar- 
ently ignores  the  presence  of  Impudence,  we  may 
be  sure  that  the  Httle  fellow's  antics  afford  him  a 
quiet  amusement.  Plainly  the  two  dogs  are  the 
best  of  friends.^ 

There  is  the  greatest  possible  contrast  between 
them,  both  in  character  and  appearance.  The 
bloodhound  is  of  a  ponderous  nature  which  does 
not  act  without  deHberation.  Thoroughly  aroused 
he  may  become  quite  terrible,  but  he  is  not  hasty  in 
his  judgments.  The  terrier  is  a  nervous  creature, 
full  of  activity.  We  can  see  from  the  tense  posi- 
tion of  his  head  in  the  picture  that  his  whole  body 
is  quivering  with  motion. 

The  bloodhound  seems  large  even  for  his  breed, 
which  averages  about  twenty-seven  inches  in  height. 
One  of  his  huge  paws  is  almost  as  large  as  the  ter- 
rier's head  and  could  easily  crush  the  httle  creature. 
But  in  spite  of  his  reputation  for  fierceness  his  ex- 
pression here  is  not  at  all  savage.  It  is  rather  grave 
and  judicial,  as  if  carefully  summing  up  the  charac- 
ter of  his  visitor.  While  the  terrier  saucily  asks 
"  Who  are  you  ?  "  the  bloodliound  is  steadily  gaz- 
ing at  the  intruder,  as  if  to  read  his  secret  thoughts. 

1  A  story  of  a  dog  friendship  as  odd  as  that  between  Dignity  and 
Impudence  is  told  apropos  of  this  picture  in  Sarah  Tytler's  little 
book,  Landseer*$  Dogs  and  their  Stories. 


it.  Hanfstaengl,  photo. 


JoUu  Andrew  i  Son,  Be. 


DIGNITY   AND    IMPUDENCE 
National  Gallery,  London 


DIGNITY  AND  IMPUDENCE  35 

A  modern  authority  on  dogs  quaintly  says  of  the 
bloodliound's  discrimination,  "  If  he  puts  you  down 
as  a  bad  character,  or  one  who  cannot  be  thor- 
oughly trusted,  there  must  be  something  radically 
wrong  about  you,  indeed." 

Perhaps  something  of  the  gravity  of  the  hound's 
countenance  is  due  to  the  looseness  of  the  skin 
about  the  head,  making  folds  which  suggest  the 
wrinkles  in  an  old  man's  face.  The  eyes,  too,  are 
rather  deep  set  and  impress  one  with  the  unfathom- 
able depths  of  the  dog's  intelligence.  How  un- 
like are  the  shining  round  orbs  of  the  little  terrier. 
The  hound's  sleek  short-haired  coat  comports  well 
with  his  dignity,  while  the  long  tangled  hair  of 
the  terrier  suits  his  impudent  character.  With  the 
long  overhanging  ears  of  the  larger  dog  are  amus- 
ingly contrasted  the  small  sharp  points  standing 
upright  on  his  companion's  head.  Finally,  were  the 
two  dogs  to  Hft  up  their  voices  to  greet  the  new 
arrival,  an  odd  duet  would  be  produced  by  the  deep 
baying  of  one,  broken  by  the  short  sharp  yelps 
of  the  other.  Dignity  and  Impudence  would  each 
find  perfect  vocal  expression. 

Our  picture  illustrates  admirably  Landseer's  gen- 
ial gift  of  humor  and  shows  us  how  varied  was  his 
power.  As  we  have  occasion  to  see  elsewhere  in 
our  book,  some  of  his  works  deal  wdth  pathetic,  even 
tragic,  subjects.^  Like  other  men  of  poetic  imagina- 
tion the  painter  seemed  equally  ready  to  call  forth 

1  See  Suspense,  The  Highland  Shepherd's  Chief  Mourner,  War, 
and  The  Hunted  Stag. 


36  LANDSEER 

smiles  or  tears.  While  no  one  can  look  at  Dignity 
and  Impudence  without  smiling  at  the  contrast, 
the  fun  is  without  irony.  Pomposity  and  imperti- 
nence are  amusing  quahties  alike  in  dogs  and  men, 
but  are  altogether  harmless. 

The  painter  has  here  kept  strictly  within  the  pro- 
per limits  of  his  art.  A  few  slight  changes  would 
entirely  transform  the  character  of  the  picture.  By 
exaggerating  only  a  little  the  human  quaHty  of  ex- 
pression in  the  dogs'  faces  and  suggesting  a  resem- 
blance to  some  particular  individuals,  the  picture 
would  become  a  caricature.  Cartoonists  have  not 
scrupled  to  borrow  the  design  and  adapt  it  to  such 
purjDoses.  Landseer  himself,  however,  had  no  aim 
but  to  produce  a  humorous  effect  of  contrast  between 
the  two  dogs. 


VII 

PEACE 

A  FLOCK  of  sheep  and  goats  are  pasturing  on  the 
meadowland  above  some  cHffs  which  rise  abruptly 
from  the  sea.  To  those  famihar  with  the  scenery  of 
England  the  place  recalls  at  once  the  white  cliffs  of 
Dover.  The  carel&kers  are  a  lad  and  his  sister,  who 
have  brought  with  them  a  younger  child.  A  shep- 
herd dog  is  their  assistant,  one  of  those  intelligent 
animals  trained  to  keep  the  flock  together  and  to 
lead  it  about. 

It  is  noontide  of  a  bright  summer  day.  The  sea 
lies  blue  and  still  under  the  clear  sky.  The  flock 
no  longer  graze  industriously,  but  rest  in  scattered 
groups.  The  young  people  amuse  themselves 
quietly  on  the  grass,  and  the  dog  has  stretched  him- 
self for  a  nap.  Overhead  two  large  sea  gulls  take 
their  flight  through  the  air. 

There  is  a  single  reminder  here  of  a  time  when 
all  was  not  so  peaceful, — the  rusty  old  cannon  in  the 
midst.  From  these  uplands  a  battery  once  frowned 
across  the  Channel,  threatening  destruction  to  the 
approaching  enemy.  The  booming  of  guns  re- 
sounded where  now  is  heard  only  the  lowing  of 
cattle  and   the  laughter  of  children.     Happily  the 


38  LANDSEER 

cannon  has  now  so  long  been  out  of  use  that  it  has 
become  a  part  o£  the  cliff,  like  one  of  the  rocks. 
The  flock  gather  about  it  as  a  rallying  place,  and 
in  its  black  mouth  grow  tender  herbs  for  the  lambs 
to  crop. 

No  cottage  is  in  sight,  and  we  judge  that  our 
young  people  have  brought  their  flock  from  a  Httle 
distance.  Two  sturdy  goats  act  as  beasts  of  bur- 
den in  the  family,  both  equipped  with  saddle  and 
bridle.  As  they  rest  now  at  one  side  they  are  the 
impersonations  of  docility  and  dignity,  but  a  hint 
of  mischief  lurks  in  their  complacent  expressions. 
One  feels  decidedly  suspicious  of  the  old  fellow 
with  the  long  beard.  Twin  lambs  lying  at  the 
cannon's  mouth  are  the  softest  and  daintiest  Httle 
creatures  of  the  flock.  So,  evidently,  thinks  the 
sheep  beside  them,  gently  nosing  the  woolly  back 
of  the  one  nearest. 

The  children  are  of  the  best  type  of  English  vil- 
lagers, with  fresh,  sweet,  happy  faces.  All  three 
are  well  dressed  and  have  the  tidy  appearance  which 
is  the  sign  of  family  thrift  and  prosperity.  The 
girl  has  her  hair  brushed  back  smoothly  from  her 
forehead  and  knotted  at  the  back  like  a  little  wo- 
man's. She  bears  herself  with  a  pretty  air  of 
motherliness  toward  her  brothers.  Like  other  Eng- 
lish village  maidens,  she  is  skilled  in  all  sorts  of 
domestic  duties  and  has  few  idle  moments  through 
the  day.  Her  sewing-basket  lies  beside  her  on  the 
ground,  and  while  the  dog  looks  after  the  sheep, 
she  busies  herself  with  her  work. 


PEACE  41 

Evidently  she  has  some  knitting  under  way,  and 
the  work  comes  to  a  pause  while  she  winds  a  new 
skein  of  yarn.  The  little  toddler  may  now  make 
himself  useful  by  holding  the  skein.  He  is  proud 
of  the  honor  and  watches  the  rapidly  moving  thread 
with  fascinated  eyes.  So  deftly  do  the  fingers  un- 
tangle the  snarls  that  the  task  is  converted  into  a 
game  as  absorbing  as  a  cat's  cradle  puzzle.  Even 
the  older  lad,  of  the  manly  age  to  feel  himself  supe- 
rior to  such  amusements,  peers  over  the  little  one's 
shoulder  with  genuine  curiosity.  In  the  excitement 
of  their  occupation,  the  little  knitter's  straw  bonnet 
has  slipped  from  her  head  far  down  her  back,  leav- 
ing the  plump  neck  exposed  to  the  sun. 

The  full  significance  of  the  picture  is  best  under- 
stood in  contrast  with  the  companion  subject.  War. 
The  two  pictures  have  been  called  by  a  critic  "  true 
poem-pictures."  The  painter  means  to  show  here 
that  the  choicest  blessing  of  Peace  is  the  prosperity 
of  the  humbler  classes,  who  are  the  bulwark  of 
the  nation.  Agricultural  pursuits  can  flourish  only 
when  arms  are  laid  down.  Happy  is  the  land  where 
innocent  children  and  dumb  beasts  can  roam  in 
safety  over  the  country. 

The  long  level  stretch  of  land  and  sea  adds  much 
to  the  impression  of  tranquillity  in  the  picture. 
The  imagination  has  a  delightful  sense  of  liberty  in 
great  spaces.  Ruskin  has  told  us  that  this  is  because 
space  is  the  symbol  of  infinity.  However  we  may 
explain  it,  we  certainly  have  here  a  pleasant  sense  of 
looking  across  illimitable  space  over  a  world  flooded 
with  sunshine. 


42  LANDSEER 

The  picture  recalls  the  stories  of  Landseer's  first 
lessons  in  drawing  in  the  pastures  near  his  boyhood 
home.  Here  he  practised  all  day  on  sheep,  which 
are  the  best  subjects  for  the  beginner,  because  they 
keep  still  so  long !  In  later  years  his  preference 
was  for  animals  of  hvelier  action,  but  in  this  excep- 
tional instance,  as  if  in  reminiscence  of  his  youth,  he 
painted  a  pastoral  scene  with  much  artistic  feeling. 

There  are  a  good  many  more  figures  in  the  pic- 
ture than  are  usual  with  our  painter,  and  he  there- 
fore had  a  more  difficult  problem  in  bringing  all 
the  parts  into  harmonious  relations.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  contrast  it  with  the  altogether  different 
kind  of  composition  in  the  companion  picture  of 
War. 


VIII 

WAR 

In  the  exigencies  of  war  a  stone  cottage  seems 
to  have  been  used  as  a  part  of  some  rudely  im- 
provised earthworks.  A  detachment  of  cavalry 
has  made  a  charge  against  this  rampart,  and  the 
place  now  lies  in  ruins.  To  the  smoke  of  battle  is 
added  the  smoke  of  burning  timbers  rising  in  a 
dense  cloud,  which  shuts  out  the  surrounding  scenes 
as  with  an  impenetrable  curtain.  Below  the  breach, 
in  a  confused  heap  amidst  the  debris,  lie  some 
of  the  victims  of  the  disaster.  There  are  two  dra- 
goons, vigorous  men  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  their 
two  splendid  horses. 

The  man  lying  most  plainly  in  sight  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  officer,  from  the  sash  worn  diagonally 
over  his  steel  coat.  He  has  fallen  backward  on  the 
ground  beside  his  horse,  one  booted  leg  still  resting 
across  the  saddle.  His  face,  well  cut  and  refined,  is 
turned  slightly  away,  and  the  expression  is  that  of  a 
peaceful  sleeper. 

On  the  other  side  of  his  horse,  his  comrade  lies  in 
a  trench  hemmed  in  by  heavy  beams.  Both  men 
are  already  apparently  quite  dead :  it  is  too  late 
.for  the  army  surgeon  or  nurse.     Death  has  come 


44  LANDSEER 

swiftly  in  the  midst  of  action,  and  the  tide  of  battle 
has  swept  on,  leaving  them  behind.  The  horse  be- 
longing to  the  man  in  the  trench  has  died  with  his 
rider ;  we  see  only  his  fine  head. 

The  other  horse,  though  unable  to  rise,  is  still 
alive.  As  he  lies  stretched  on  the  ground,  we  see 
what  muscular  strength  he  had, — a  beautiful  creature 
whose  glossy  hide  and  sweeping  mane  and  tail  show 
the  pride  his  owner  took  in  him.  The  two  have 
shared  together  all  the  hardships  of  the  campaign, — 
long  journeys,  short  rations,  extremes  of  cold  and 
heat,  fatigue  and  privation.  The  horse  has  learned 
to  listen  for  the  familiar  voice,  so  strong  in  com- 
mand, so  reassuring  in  danger.  Now  even  in  his 
dying  agony  he  turns  with  touching  devotion  to  his 
master.  Not  a  sound  comes  from  the  closed  Hps, 
not  a  flutter  of  the  eyelids  disturbs  the  calm  of  the 
face. 

Lifting  his  head  for  a  last  effort,  the  splendid 
creature  sends  forth  a  prolonged  whinny.  This 
must  surely  arouse  the  sleeper,  and  he  fixes  his  eyes 
on  the  impassive  countenance  with  an  almost  human 
expression  of  anxiety  and  entreaty.  All  in  vain, 
and  in  another  moment  the  flames  and  smoke  will 
envelop  them,  and  soon  nothing  will  remain  to  show 
where  they  fell. 

This  is  the  story  we  read  in  our  picture  of  War. 
There  is  nothing  here  to  tell  us  whether  the  fallen 
riders  are  among  the  victors  or  the  vanquished. 
We  do  not  care  to  know,  for  in  either  case  their 
fate  is  equally  tragic.     It  was  England's  iron  duke 


WAR  47 

who  said  "  Nothing  except  a  battle  lost  can  be  half 
so  melancholy  as  a  battle  won." 

Various  small  touches  in  the  composition  add  to 
the  significance  of  the  scene.  Fresh  flowers  among 
the  heaps  of  stones  show  how  recently  there  was  a 
smiling  garden  where  now  all  is  so  ghastly.  On 
the  ground  lie  an  embroidered  saddle-cloth,  a  bugle, 
and  a  sword,  emblems  of  the  military  hfe. 

It  is  said  that  the  horrors  of  war  have  never  yet 
been  faithfully  portrayed.  Those  who  have  lived 
through  the  experience  are  unwilling  to  recall  it, 
while  those  who  draw  upon  their  imaginations  must 
fall  short  of  the  reality.  Whenever  any  powerful 
imagination  comes  somewhere  near  the  truth,  peo- 
ple turn  away  shocked,  unable  to  endure  the  spec- 
tacle.^ Even  this  picture  is  almost  too  painful  to 
contemplate,  yet  it  selects  only  a  single  episode  from 
a  battlefield  strewn  with  scenes  of  equal  horror. 

Landseer  had  himself  seen  nothing  of  war.  The 
Napoleonic  wars  had  ended  in  his  childhood  and 
the  Crimean  war  was  still  ten  years  in  the  future. 
It  was  in  the  quiet  interim  of  the  early  reign  of 
Victoria  when  the  picture  was  painted.  The  object 
was  to  emphasize  by  contrast  the  blessings  of  peace 
illustrated  in  the  companion  picture.  As  in  Peace 
we  have  a  delightful  sense  of  light,  space,  and  liberty, 
in  War  we  have  a  suffocating  sense  of  darkness, 
limitation,  and  horror. 

Of  the  many  tragedies  of  the  battlefield,  naturally 

1  As  when  the  exhibition  of  Verestschagin's  pictures  was  forbid- 
den. 


48  LANDSEER 

the  sort  which  would  most  appeal  to  Landseer's 
imagination  would  be  the  relations  between  horses 
and  their  riders.  Always  in  close  sympathy  with 
animal  life,  he  had  a  keen  sense  of  the  suffering 
which  the  horses  undergo  in  the  stress  of  conflict. 
The  real  hero  of  our  picture  is  the  horse. 

In  an  artistic  sense  also  the  dying  horse  dominates 
the  composition,  his  great  bulk  lying  diagonally 
across  the  centre  of  the  foreground,  and  his  lifted 
head  forming  the  topmost  point  of  the  group.  All 
the  other  figures  are  subordinated,  both  Hterally 
and  in  point  of  sentiment.  Their  conflict  is  over 
and  they  are  at  rest,  but  the  suffering  animal  is 
even  now  at  the  climax  of  his  agony,  his  terror  in- 
creased by  a  desolate  sense  of  loneliness.  The  pathos 
of  the  situation  is  the  deeper  because  of  the  animal's 
inability  to  understand  his  master's  silence. 

The  sentiment  is  one  common  with  Landseer,  as 
we  see  in  other  pictures  of  our  collection.  It  is  the 
favorite  animal's  love  for  his  master  made  manifest 
in  some  great  trial.  Like  the  bloodhound  in  the 
picture  of  Suspense,  and  Hke  The  Highland  Shep- 
herd's Chief  Mourner,  the  horse  is  raised  by  the 
dignity  of  suffering  to  the  level  of  human  emotion. 


IX 


A    DISTINGUISHED     MEMBER     OF    THE     HUMANE 
SOCIETY 

In  his  walks  about  the  city  and  in  the  country 
Landseer's  eye  was  always  quick  to  catch  sight  of  a 
fine  animal  of  any  kind.  To  his  remarkable  habits 
of  observation  is  due  the  perfect  fidelity  to  nature 
which  we  find  in  all  his  work.  One  day,  in  a  street 
in  London,  he  met  a  Newfoundland  dog  carrying  a 
basket  of  flowers.  He  was  struck  at  once  with  the 
singular  beauty  of  the  dog's  color.  Newfoundland 
dogs  of  various  colors  were  at  that  time  common 
about  London,  red,  brown,  bronze,  black,  and  black 
and  white.  Landseer  had  already  painted  a  black 
and  white  one  in  the  picture  of  The  Twa  Dogs,  which 
we  have  examined. 

Here,  however,  was  a  dog  of  a  beautiful  snowy 
white  with  a  head  quite  black  save  the  muzzle.  The 
painter  was  not  long  in  making  his  acquaintance, 
and  learned  that  he  was  called  Paul  Pry.  Permis- 
sion being  obtained  to  make  the  dog's  portrait,  our 
beautiful  picture  was  the  result.  It  is  probably  this 
picture  which  gave  rise  to  the  later  custom  of  call- 
ing the  white  Newfoundland  dog  the  Landseer 
Newfoundland,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  black. 


50  LANDSEER 


The  Newfoundland  dog  is  a  general  favorite  for 
his  many  good  qualities.  He  is  very  sagacious  and 
faithful,  and  unites  great  strength  with  equal  gentle- 
ness. He  is  at  once  an  excellent  watchdoo-  and  a 
companionable  member  of  the  household.  Children 
are  often  intrusted  to  his  care  :  he  makes  a  dehght- 
ful  playmate,  submitting  good-naturedly  to  all  a 
child's  caprices  and  apparently  enjoying  the  sport. 
At  the  same  time  he  keeps  a  watchful  eye  against 
any  danger  to  his  charge,  and  no  suspicious  char- 
acter is  allowed  to  molest. 

It  is  possible  to  train  such  dogs  to  all  sorts  of 
useful  service.  In  their  native  country  of  New- 
foundland they  do  the  work  of  horses,  and  har- 
nessed to  carts  or  sledges  draw  heavy  loads.  They 
learn  to  fetch  and  carry  baskets,  bundles,  and  letters, 
and  are  quick,  reliable  messengers. 

Perhaps  their  most  striking  peculiarity  is  their 
fondness  for  the  water ;  they  take  to  it  as  naturally 
as  if  it  were  their  proper  element.  They  are  not 
only  strong  swimmers,  but  also  remarkable  divers, 
sometimes  keeping  their  heads  under  the  surface 
for  a  considerable  time.  Nature  seems  specially  to 
have  fitted  them  for  the  rescue  of  the  drowning, 
and  in  this  humane  caUing  they  have  made  a  noble 
record. 

Innumerable  stories  are  told  of  people,  accident- 
ally falling  from  boats,  bridges,  or  piers,  who  have 
been  brought  safely  to  land  by  these  dog  heroes. 
The  dog  seizes  the  person  by  some  part  of  the  cloth- 
ing, or  perhaps   by  a  limb,  and  with   the  weight 


o  6 


is  fJ 


A  MEMBER  OF  THE   HUMANE   SOCIETY  53 

dragging  at  his  mouth,  makes  his  way  to  the  shore. 
He  seems  to  take  great  pains  to  hold  the  burden  as 
gently  as  possible,  keeping  the  head  above  water 
with  great  sagacity.  Some  one  has  told  o£  seeing  a 
dog  rescue  a  drowning  canary,  holding  it  so  lightly 
in  his  mouth  that  it  was  quite  uninjured. 

It  is  in  his  capacity  as  a  life  saver  that  the  New- 
foundland dog  of  our  picture  is  represented,  called 
by  the  pleasant  jest  of  the  painter,  A  Distinguished 
Member  of  the  Humane  Society.  Surely  no  mem- 
ber of  the  honorable  body  could  be  more  efficient 
than  he  in  that  good  cause.  He  lies  at  the  end 
of  a  stone  jetty,  his  fore  paws  hanging  over  its  edge 
a  Kttle  above  water  level.  Nothing  can  be  seen 
behind  him  but  the  gray  sky,  with  sea  gulls  flying 
across :  against  this  background  the  massive  head 
stands  out  grandly.  He  seems  to  look  far  out  to 
sea,  as  if  following  the  course  of  a  distant  vessel. 
A  gentle  lifting  of  the  ears  shows  how  alert  is  his 
attention ;  he  is  constantly  on  duty,  ready  to  spring 
into  the  water  in  an  instant. 

His  attitude  shows  his  great  size  to  full  advan- 
tage, —  the  splendid  breadth  of  his  breast  and  the 
solidity  of  his  flank.  The  open  mouth  reveals 
the  powerful  jaw.  A  sense  of  his  strength  is  deeply 
impressed  upon  us.  The  pose  suggests  that  of  a 
couching  lion,  and  has  the  same  adaptability  to 
sculpture,  as  we  may  see  by  comparing  it  with  the 
bronze  lion  of  the  Nelson  monument. 

As  the  dog  lies  in  the  full  sunlight,  the  picture  is 
an  interesting  study  in  the  gradations  of  light  and 


54  LANDSEER 

shadow,  or  of  what  in  technical  phrase  is  called 
chiaroscuro,  A  critic  calls  our  attention  to  "  the 
painting  of  the  hide,  here  rigid  and  there  soft,  here 
shining  with  reflected  light,  there  like  down ;  the 
masses  of  the  hair,  as  the  dog's  habitual  motions 
caused  them  to  grow;  the  foreshortening  of  his 
paws  as  they  hang  over  the  edge  of  the  quarry."  ^ 

Other  Newfoundland  dogs  are  known  to  fame 
through  epitaphs  written  in  their  honor  by  distin- 
guished men,  such  as  Lord  Byron,  Lord  Grenville, 
and  the  Earl  of  Eldon.  Never  has  dog  had  a  nobler 
monument  than  this  Distinguished  Member  of  the 
Humane  Society,  whose  portrait  ranks  among  Land- 
seer's  best  works. 

The  owner  of  the  dog,  Mr.  Newman  Smith,  be- 
came likewise  the  owner  of  the  picture,  and  by  him 
it  was  bequeathed  to  the  English  National  Gallery, 
where  it  now  hangs. 

1  F.  G.  Stephens. 


A   NAUGHTY    CHILD 

In  stories  of  the  English  village  life  of  half  a 
century  ago  we  often  read  of  the  "  dame  school," 
where  children  took  the  first  steps  in  their  educa- 
tion. This  would  be  held  in  the  cottage  of  the 
schoolmistress,  who,  in  our  imagination,  was  always 
a  kindly  old  woman  in  a  big  cap  and  short  petticoats. 
The  children  sat  in  rows  on  hard  wooden  seats,  or 
"  forms,"  and  gabbled  their  lessons  aloud.  Each 
was  provided  with  a  slate  on  which  letters  and  fig- 
ures were  laboriously  inscribed.  By  the  great  fire- 
place sat  the  mistress,  and  the  big-faced  clock  ticked 
off  the  slow  hours.  A  striking  contrast  was  this 
to  the  kindergarten  of  the  twentieth  century  ! 

Our  picture  shows  us  a  corner  of  a  dame  school 
where  a  naughty  child  is  in  a  fit  of  temper.  The 
rough  board  walls,  with  great  projecting  beams, 
show  how  little  thought  was  given  to  schoolroom 
adornment  in  those  days.  The  high  bench,  with- 
out back,  is  as  uncomfortable  a  seat  as  one  could 
imagine.  It  is  supposed  that  the  children  of  that 
period  were  strictly  disciplined  in  good  behavior, 
but  it  appears  that  naughtiness  was  no  less  common 
then  than  now.     The  refractory  pupil  who  would 


56  LANDSEER 

not  learn  his  lessons  was  condemned  to  sit  on  the 
dunce  stool,  wearing  the  tall  pointed  cap.  Natu- 
rally he  did  not  yield  readily  to  his  punishment,  and 
there  was  often  a  struggle  with  the  mistress  before 
peace  was  restored. 

The  child  oi  our  picture  is  evidently  giving  the 
good  dame  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  Neither  threat- 
ening nor  coaxing  can  induce  him  to  study  his  les- 
son. The  book  is  turned  face  down  on  the  form, 
and  in  a  storm  of  rage  the  boy  has  thrown  his  slate 
crashing  to  the  floor.  This  exhibition  of  temper  is 
followed  by  a  fit  of  sulks.  He  squeezes  himself 
into  the  smallest  possible  space  in  the  corner,  hud- 
dling his  feet  together,  toes  turned  in,  and  pressing 
his  arms  close  to  his  side.  The  raising  of  the  shoul- 
ders reminds  one  of  the  way  a  cat  raises  its  back  as 
it  shrinks  from  its  enemy.  The  child's  mouth  is 
twisted,  pouting  in  a  scornful  curve.  His  eyes, 
bright  with  unshed  tears,  glare  sullenly  before  him 
into  space.  Here  is  wilfulness  and  obstinacy  to  a 
degree. 

If  the  boy's  face  were  not  disfigured  by  anger, 
we  should  see  in  him  a  handsome  little  fellow.  He 
is  of  a  sturdy  build,  with  plump  arms  and  shoulders, 
a  noble  head  with  a  profusion  of  flaxen  curls,  and 
a  face  which  misrht  be  charmino^  in  another  mood. 
If  the  schoolmistress  could  once  win  him  she  would 
have  a  pupil  to  be  proud  of.  Such  a  head  as  his 
might  produce  a  Daniel  Webster. 

The  episode  of  the  schoolroom  is  the  story  the 
painter  wished  us  to  read  in  his  work.     The  real 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


A   NAUGHTY   CHILD 

Sonf/i  Kensington  Musentn,  London 


A  NAUGHTY  CHILD  69 

story  of  the  picture  is  quite  a  different  tale.  The 
scene  of  the  Naughty  Child's  temper  was  Landseer's 
own  studio,  and  the  child  was  angry,  not  because  he 
had  to  learn  a  lesson,  but  because  he  must  sit  for  his 
picture.  In  those  days,  before  the  invention  of  pho- 
tography, it  was  indeed  a  tedious  process  to  obtain 
a  child's  portrait.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at 
that  an  active  boy  like  this  should  not  relish  the 
prospect  of  a  long  sitting. 

Landseer  was  struck  by  the  child's  beauty  and 
was  eager  to  make  the  picture.  The  outburst  of 
temper  did  not  trouble  him  a  bit.  Seizing  his  sketch- 
book he  hastily  drew  the  little  fellow  exactly  as  he 
looked.  It  was  characteristic  of  his  art  to  reproduce 
accurately  every  peculiarity  of  pose  and  motion,  and 
he  found  this  attitude  of  the  child  far  more  novel 
and  interesting  than  the  stiff  pose  of  a  commonplace 
portrait.  It  seems  hardly  probable  that  the  parents 
could  have  been  pleased  to  have  their  son's  ill-temper 
perpetuated.  What  they  thought  of  the  picture  we 
can  only  surmise.  Certain  it  is  that  later  genera- 
tions of  mothers,  leading  their  children  through  the 
gallery  where  the  picture  hangs,  could  not  have 
failed  to  pause  and  point  the  moral. 

Our  picture  emphasizes  the  fact  that  Landseer's 
artistic  skill  was  not  limited  to  the  portrayal  of  ani- 
mal life.  How  natural  it  was  to  think  of  him  chiefly 
as  a  painter  of  dogs  is  illustrated  in  the  familiar 
witticism  of  Sydney  Smith.  Being  asked  if  he  was 
about  to  sit  to  Landseer  for  a  portrait,  he  asked,  "  Is 
thy  servant  a  dog  that  he  should  do  this  thing  ?  " 


60  LANDSEER 

Had  not  Landseer's  tastes  gradually  limited  his 
work  to  animal  subjects,  he  might  have  become 
well  known  both  for  his  landscapes  and  his  portraits. 
He  was  especially  happy  in  the  delineation  of  chil- 
dren, whose  unconscious  motions  display  the  same 
free  play  of  muscle  as  do  the  animals.  We  have 
seen  in  our  picture  of  Peace  how  sympathetically  he 
entered  into  the  heart  of  childhood. 

Two  English  painters  who  preceded  Landseer  are 
famous  for  their  pictures  of  children,  Sir  Joshua 
Eeynolds  and  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence.  It  has  not 
been  thought  unsuitable  to  compare  Landseer  with 
these  great  men,  in  the  treatment  of  child  subjects. 
His  works,  says  a  critic,^  "  without  the  color  or  sub- 
tlety of  character  of  Reynolds  or  the  superfineness  of 
Lawrence,  are  quite  equal  to  the  first  in  naturalness 
and  to  the  second  in  real  refinement,  and  are  with- 
out the  mannerism  or  affectation  of  either." 
1  Cosmo  Monkhouse. 


XI 

THE   SLEEPING   BLOODHOUND 

If  a  universal  dog-lover  like  Landseer  could  be 
said  to  have  a  preference  for  any  particular  kind^  it 
was  certainly  for  the  bloodhound.  This  noble  ani- 
mal is  of  very  ancient  origin,  known  apparently  to 
the  Romans,  and  introduced  early  in  English  history 
into  Great  Britain.  Apparently  many  gentlemen  of 
Landseer' s  acquaintance  were  possessors  of  fine  speci- 
mens. One  of  these  we  have  already  seen  in  the 
picture  of  Suspense,  where  the  dog's  senses  are  all 
in  intense  concentration.  Here,  by  contrast,  the 
Sleeping  Bloodhound  is  seen  in  complete  relaxation. 

We  might  almost  fancy  the  picture  a  sequel  to 
Suspense,  and  carry  on  our  story  to  another  chapter, 
in  which,  the  knight's  wounds  being  stanched,  the 
door  is  opened  and  the  dog  admitted  to  his  master's 
presence.  Quiet  having  fallen  on  the  household,  the 
hound  retires  to  a  corner  for  a  well-deserved  nap. 
He  lies  on  a  fur  rug  spread  in  front  of  an  ottoman, 
beside  which  stands  his  master's  helmet.  His  fore- 
legs are  stretched  out  straight  before  him,  his  body 
curled  around,  his  head  pushed  forward  in  a  position 
which  from  a  dog's  point  of  view  represents  soKd 
comfort. 


62  LANDSEER 

Though  asleep  he  is  still  on  guard ;  the  painter  has 
conveyed  the  impression  of  the  dog's  latent  power, 
even  in  repose.  Like  Rab,  in  Dr.  John  Brown's 
famous  story,  he  is  ^'  a  sort  of  compressed  Hercules 
of  a  dog."  As  he  Hes  at  his  ease,  we  note  the  char- 
acteristics of  his  kind,  —  the  loose  skin,  the  long 
soft  ears,  the  long  thick  tail.  Of  his  most  striking 
quality  there  is  no  visible  evidence,  namely,  his  ex- 
quisite sense  of  smell.  It  is  this  which  has  made 
him  so  valuable  to  man,  both  as  a  companion  of  his 
sports  and  a  protector  of  life  and  property. 

In  former  times  when  the  resources  of  govern- 
ment were  limited,  bloodhounds  often  served  in  the 
useful  capacity  of  a  detective  force.  In  the  border 
country  between  England  and  Scotland,  before  the 
union  of  the  kingdoms,  these  dogs  were  kept  to 
maintain  safety,  and  to  track  criminals.  In  Cuba 
they  were  put  on  the  pursuit  of  outlaw^s  and  fugi- 
tives from  justice.  This  explains  w4iy  the  dog  has 
sometimes  been  called  a  sleuthhound ;  that  is,  a  dog 
set  upon  a  sleuth,  or  trail. 

In  our  own  Southern  States  bloodhounds  were  once 
used  to  recover  runaway  slaves,  as  we  may  read  in 
"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  There  have  been  times,  too, 
when  the  dog's  unique  gift  of  scent  has  enabled  him 
to  find  lost  children  and  exhausted  travellers,  and 
thus  be  a  benefactor  to  humanity. 

Whatever  the  task  set  him,  whether  for  good  or 
ignoble  ends,  the  bloodhound  has  always  fulfilled  it 
with  unflagging  perseverance  and  devotion.  He  is 
a  dog  to  command  both  fear  and  admiration,  and 


THE  SLEEPING  BLOODHOUND  65 

we  count  ourselves  fortunate  if   we  win  his   good 
opinion. 

The  original  of  the  portrait  was  Countess,  the 
bloodhound  of  Mr.  Jacob.  Bell,  of  whom  we  have 
also  heard  as  the  owner  of  the  bay  mare  Betty. 
The  dog  had  long  been  waiting  for  a  portrait  sitting, 
but  the  busy  painter  seemed  to  have  no  time  for  the 
work.  Finally  occurred  a  strange  accident  which 
was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  picture.  Poor 
Countess  fell  one  night  from  a  parapet  at  Mr.  BelFs 
residence,  in  some  unknown  way  losing  her  balance, 
or  missing  her  footing.  The  distance  was  between 
twenty  and  thirty  feet,  and  the  dog  was  killed.  Mr. 
Bell  immediately  took  the  animal  to  Landseer's 
studio,  and  there  in  an  incredibly  short  time  was 
produced  this  portrait. 

The  story  explains  why  the  painter  chose  the 
unusual  theme  of  a  sleeping  dog.  Ordinarily  he 
delighted  in  showing  the  expressiveness  of  a  dog's 
eye.  This  being  here  impossible  on  account  of 
the  model's  condition,  we  have  instead  a  picture 
which  we  would  not  exchange  even  for  Suspense  or 
Dignity  and  Impudence.  If  we  have  here  less  of 
those  higher  qualities  which  are  brought  out  in  the 
dog's  human  relationships,  we  see  the  better  the 
purely  animal  side  of  his  nature. 

The  union  of  power  with  repose  is  a  rare  combi- 
nation in  art,  and  one  we  associate  with  Greek  sculp- 
ture. The  picture  of  the  Sleeping  Bloodhound  has 
what  we  call  plastic  qualities.  We  have  a  sense  of 
the  massive  solidity  of  the  dog's  body,  as  if  it  were 


66  LANDSEER 

modelled  in  clay.  In  this  respect  the  picture  should 
be  compared  with  the  Newfoundland  dog  called  the 
Distinguished  Member  of  the  Humane  Society,  and 
with  the  lion  of  the  Nelson  monument. 

The  helmet  beside  the  dog  is  one  of  those  pictur- 
esque accessories  which  Landseer  enjoyed  putting 
into  his  works.  Like  the  gauntlets  in  the  picture  of 
Suspense,  it  suggests  the  knightly  deeds  of  chivalry 
with  which  the  bloodhound  seems  appropriately 
associated.  The  reflection  of  light  from  the  polished 
surface  of  the  metal  makes  an  effective  touch  in  the 
picture. 

It  is  by  no  accident  that  the  helmet  occupies  the 
place  it  does ;  it  is  an  essential  part  of  the  composi- 
tion, serving  precisely  the  same  purpose  which  the 
cavalier's  hat  does  in  the  picture  of  the  King 
Charles  Spaniels.  Both  compositions  gain  by  this 
device  the  necessary  height  to  balance  their  hori- 
zontal lines. 


XII 

THE    HUNTED    STAG 

In  his  study  of  the  deer  in  the  Scottish  Highlands, 
Landseer  found  almost  inexhaustible  material  for  his 
art.  In  fact,  nothing  of  interest  escaped  him  in  the 
life  of  this  noble  animal.  If  we  could  have  a  com- 
plete collection  of  his  pictures  on  this  subject,  they 
would  set  forth  the  entire  story  of  the  deer.  The 
painter,  as  we  have  seen,  did  his  hunting  with  a 
sketch-book,  and  brought  home,  instead  of  so  many 
head  of  game,  so  many  pictures  with  which  to  de- 
light future  generations.  Many  of  these  pictures 
deal  with  tragic  subjects,  as  in  our  illustration  of 
a  Hunted  Stag  borne  down  a  mountain  torrent 
with  the  hounds  upon  him.  The  pathetic  side  of 
animal  life  appealed  strongly  to  Landseer's  dramatic 
imagination.  He  who  could  see  so  readily  the 
comic  aspects  of  a  situation  was  equally  quick  in 
his  appreciation  of  suffering. 

It  has  been  said  by  a  close  observer  of  animal  life 
that  no  wild  animal  dies  a  natural  death. ^  Every 
creature  of  the  woods  lives  in  the  midst  of  perpetual 
dangers  from  some  one  of  which,  sooner  or  later,  he 
comes  to  a  violent  or  tragic  end.     The  rigor  of  the 

1  Ernest  Seton-Thompson  in  Wild  Animals  I  have  known. 


68  LANDSEER 

elements  sometimes  overcomes  him, 
heat  or  cold,  flood  or  avalanche,  the  falling  tree  or 
the  crashing  rock.  It  may  be  that  some  other  ani- 
mal which  is  his  natural  enemy  finally  falls  upon 
him  and  destroys  him.  The  most  cruel  fate  of  all 
is  when  he  falls  into  the  power  of  the  sportsman, 
matching  against  the  wild  creature's  instincts  his 
wits,  his  dogs,  and  his  rifle.  In  such  an  unequal 
contest  man  seldom  fails  to  win. 

Deerstalking  was  long  the  favorite  sport  in  Eng- 
land, dating  from  the  early  days  of  semi-barbarism, 
when  the  only  serious  pursuits  of  the  rich  were 
war  and  the  chase.  The  forest  laws  of  the  old  Nor- 
man kings  set  the  punishment  for  killing  a  deer, 
except  in  the  chase,  as  great  as  for  taking  a  human 
life.  Large  tracts  of  land  were  reserved  for  hunting 
grounds  in  districts  which  might  otherwise  have 
been  covered  with  prosperous  villages.  Down  to 
our  own  times,  a  large  pack  of  hounds  was  main- 
tained by  the  English  crown  solely  for  the  use  of 
royal  hunting  parties.  At  length,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  twentieth  century,  the  new  king,  Edward  VII., 
has  abolished  the  custom. 

It  would  seem  that  the  deer  was  well  fitted  by 
nature  to  cope  with  his  enemy  the  sportsman.  His 
senses  are  so  exquisitely  delicate  that  he  detects  the 
approach  of  the  hunter  at  a  great  distance.  As  soon 
as  he  takes  alarm  he  flees  from  the  danger,  covering 
the  ground  in  flying  leaps  with  incredible  speed. 
From  time  to  time  he  pauses  on  some  hilltop  to 
locate  anew  the  position  of  the  enemy. 


THE   HUNTED   STAG  71 

As  he  begins  to  tire,  he  resorts  to  stratagem  as  a 
substitute  for  speed.  Sometimes  another  deer  comes 
to  his  aid,  taking  the  track  he  has  made,  while  he 
hides  in  some  thicket  or  flies  in  a  different  direction. 
One  of  his  tricks  is  to  run  backward  over  his  course 
for  a  number  of  yards,  and  then  leap  aside  to  start 
in  another  way.  The  story  of  the  Sandhill  Stag 
tells  how  a.  deer  used  this  device  three  times  in  suc- 
cession, the  last  time  returning  to  a  thicket  near  his 
track  from  which  he  could  discern  his  pursuer  long 
before  the  trail  would  bring  him  too  near.  After 
this,  grown  more  desperate,  the  stag  circled  round 
till  he  joined  his  old  track,  and  then  bounded  aside 
to  let  the  hunter  follow  the  cold  scent. 

When  all  such  artifices  fail,  the  hunted  deer's  last 
resort  is  the  water.  Plunging  into  a  lake  or  moun- 
tain stream,  he  swims  up  the  current,  taking  care 
not  to  touch  any  brush  on  the  bank,  lest  he  leave  a 
scent  for  the  hounds.  It  is  said  that  he  can  even 
hide  under  the  water,  leaving  only  the  tip  of  his 
nose  above  the  surface. 

The  stag  of  our  picture  has  reached  the  water  too 
late  ;  already  the  hounds  are  upon  him.  The  mass 
of  struggling  animals  is  swept  along  the  current  of 
a  mountain  stream  to  an  inevitable  doom.  The 
hunted  creature  raises  his  noble  head  in  his  dying 
agony,  seeking  to  escape  his  tormentors.  Even  yet 
he  strikes  out  in  a  brave  attempt  to  swim,  but  the 
end  is  only  too  plain. 

The  painter's  art  has  set  the  tragedy  very  forci- 
bly before  us.    Behind  is  a  lake,  around  which  rises 


72  LANDSEER 

a  ranofe  of  hio^h  hills.  A  sino^le  break  in  their  out- 
line  admits  a  ray  of  sunlight  into  the  sombre  gran- 
deur of  the  scene.  The  narrow  stream  which  issues 
from  the  lake  falls  between  huge  boulders,  in  a 
steep  descent.  The  struggle  of  the  dogs  with  their 
prey  churns  the  torrent  into  foam  about  the  body  of 
the  stag. 

While  we  admire  the  art  which  can  produce  such 
a  picture,  the  subject,  Hke  that  of  War,  is  too  painful 
for  enjoyment.  We  must  turn  again  to  the  Mon- 
arch of  the  Glen,  and  from  the  contrast  of  the 
dying  with  the  hving,  we  enjoy  the  more  the  splen- 
did vitality  of  the  animal. 


XIII 

JACK    IN    OFFICE 

In  the  time  of  Landseer  a  familiar  figure  about 
the  streets  of  London  was  the  itinerant  dealer  in 
dog's  meat.  His  outfit  consisted  of  a  square  covered 
wheelbarrow  in  which  he  carried  the  meat,  a  basket, 
a  pair  of  scales,  knives,  skewers,  and  similar  tools  of 
his  trade.  His  assistant  was  a  dog,  whose  duty  was 
to  guard  the  meat  barrow  while  the  butcher  called 
for  orders  or  delivered  his  goods.  In  this  capacity 
a  dog  would  serve  even  better  than  a  boy,  in  keep- 
ing hungry  animals  from  his  master's  property. 
There  is  a  quaint  old  saying  that  "  it  takes  a  rogue 
to  catch  a  rogue."  The  dog's  wages  were  all  the 
meat  he  could  eat,  and  having  satisfied  himself  to 
the  point  of  gluttony,  there  would  be  no  danger  of 
any  inroads  on  the  meat  from  him. 

In  our  picture  a  butcher  has  left  his  barrow 
standing  on  the  cobble-stone  pavement  at  the  corner 
of  the  narrow  entrance  to  a  square.  His  dog  Jack 
controls  the  situation  in  his  absence,  and  rules  with 
undisputed  authority. 

Such  is  the  master's  confidence  in  the  dog's  ability 
to  manage,  that  he  has  taken  no  pains  to  put  the 
meat  away  in  the  barrow.     A  large  cut  is  left  in 


74  LANDSEER 

the  scale  pan,  and  a  basket  on  the  pavement  con- 
tains some  choice  bits.  Naturally  the  tempting  odor 
has  drawn  a  number  of  stray  street  dogs  to  the 
place. 

From  his  elevated  position  Jack  surveys  them  as 
a  monarch  receiving  a  throng  of  obsequious  cour- 
tiers. As  a  matter  of  fact  he  is  himself  a  low  mon- 
grel cur,  vastly  inferior  in  origin  to  some  of  the 
surrounding  dogs.  Circumstances  having  raised 
him  to  a  position  of  authority  he  regards  them  all 
with  supercilious  disdain.  A  miserable,  half  starved 
hound  approaches  the  basket  with  eyes  fixed  hun- 
grily on  the  contents,  the  tail  drooping  between  the 
shaking  legs,  the  attitude  expressing  the  most  abject 
wretchedness.  He  is  a  canine  Uriah  Heep  profess- 
ing himself  "  so  'umble."  Behind  is  a  retriever, 
uplifting  a  begging  paw,  and  farther  away  are  other 
eager  dogs.  A  puppy  in  front  has  just  finished 
eating,  and,  still  gnawing  the  skewer,  looks  up  to 
ask  for  more. 

Not  one  of  them  all  dares  touch  the  meat,  though 
Jack  moves  not  a  muscle  to  prevent  them.  It  is  a 
question  whether  an  overfed,  tight-skinned  animal 
like  this  would  prove  a  very  redoubtable  enemy  in  a 
fight.  Jack's  influence,  however,  is  due  in  no  small 
measure  to  his  sagacious  air  of  importance.  Seated 
on  his  haunches,  he  holds  between  his  fore  legs  the 
handle  of  the  scales  as  the  insignia  of  office.  A 
broad  collar  and  a  small  leather  harness  show  he  has 
to  take  his  own  turn  in  serving  another.  Ignoring 
the  appeal  of  the  puppy,  he  turns  to  the  group  of 


JACK  IN  OFFICE  77 

larger  dogs,  regarding  tliem  with  a  contemptuous 
expression  of  his  half-closed  eyes.  He  has  been  a 
keen  observer  of  dog  nature,  and  knows  what  value 
to  place  upon  the  professions  of  these  fawning  crea- 
tures. 

The  situation  inevitably  suggests  corresponding 
relations  in  human  life.  It  often  happens  that  a 
man  of  inferior  qualities  is  raised  to  some  position 
of  authority  which  he  holds  with  arrogant  assump- 
tion. Himself  the  servant  of  another,  he  delights 
in  the  exercise  of  a  petty  tyranny.  He  is  forthwith 
surrounded  by  a  throng  of  flatterers  seeking  the  ben- 
efits he  has  to  bestow.  It  is  pitiable  to  see  how  some 
who  were  originally  his  superiors  humiHate  them- 
selves before  him.  Like  the  sycophant  hound  and 
the  imploring  retriever,  they  seem  to  lose  all  sense  of 
self-respect. 

One  can  see  how  easily  the  picture  of  Jack  in 
Of&ce  could  be  converted  into  a  caricature,  and  it  is 
not  surprising  to  learn  that  it  has  been  used  in  Eng- 
land as  a  political  cartoon.  American  politics  might 
also  produce  many  a  parallel  situation.  The  party 
boss  in  a  municipal  government  holding  petty  ap- 
pointments in  his  control  is  a  veritable  Jack  in 
Office  surrounded  by  his  followers. 

The  humor  of  the  picture  is,  as  we  see,  a  trifle 
keener  than  in  Dignity  and  Impudence.  Arro- 
gance and  sycophancy  are  such  despicable  qualities, 
whether  in  dog  or  man,  that  they  are  held  up  not 
only  for  our  laughter  but  for  our  contempt. 

As  may  be  inferred   from  our  previous  illustra- 


78  LANDSEER 

tions,  the  greater  number  of  Landseer's  dog  sub- 
jects were  drawn  from  animals  of  the  finer  breeds. 
Jack  in  Office  is  unique  in  our  collection  as  deahng 
with  the  commoner  animals  of  the  street.  Even 
here,  however,  the  painter  found  material  for  his 
favorite  theme  of  the  dog's  fidelity  to  his  master. 
Jack  is,  as  it  were,  the  butcher's  business  partner, 
sharing  alike  in  his  labors  and  his  gains.  As  we 
are  to  see  again  in  our  next  picture,  the  dog  which 
is  made  the  companion  of  daily  labor  is  even  more 
to  his  master  than  one  which  is  merely  a  playmate. 

It  is  instructive  to  examine  one  by  one  the  details 
of  the  composition,  which  the  painter  has  rendered 
with  much  technical  skill.  The  vista  of  the  square 
at  the  end  of  the  alley  is  a  pleasant  feature  of  the 
composition,  giving  a  more  spacious  background  to 
the  group. 


XIV 

THE    HIGHLAND    SHEPHERd's    CHIEF   MOURNER 

While  the  mountains  of  the  Scottish  Highlands 
are  haunted  by  deer,  the  valleys  are  the  pasture 
ground  for  large  flocks  of  sheep.  Here  our  painter, 
Landseer,  made  the  acquaintance  of  two  unique 
characters,  the  Highland  shepherd  and  his  dog. 
In  former  times  the  shepherds  of  Scotland  were  no 
ordinary  men.  The  loneliness  of  the  life  in  these 
wilds  left  an  impress  upon  their  nature,  making  it 
stern  and  serious.  Not  infrequently  great  readers 
were  found  among  them,  and  even  poets.  The 
Ettrick  shepherd  James  Hogg  was  one  of  Scot- 
land's first  men  of  letters. 

The  poet  Wordsworth,  whose  boyhood  was  passed 
in  the  north  of  England,  describes  in  "  The  Prelude  " 
his  admiration  for  the  shepherds  of  that  region :  — 

"  There,  't  is  the  shepherd's  task  the  winter  long 
To  wait  upon  the  storms  :  of  their  approach 
Sagacious,  into  sheltering  coves  he  drives 
His  flock,  and  thither  from  the  homestead  bears 
A  toilsome  burden  up  the  craggy  ways. 
And  deals  it  out,  their  regular  nourishment 
Strewn  on  the  frozen  snow.     And  when  the  spring 
Looks  out,  and  all  the  pastures  dance  with  lambs, 
And  when  the  flock,  with  warmer  weather,  climbs 


80  LANDSEER 

Higher  and  higher,  him  his  office  leads 
To  watch  their  goings,  whatsoever  track 
The  wanderers  choose. 

A  rambling  schoolboy,  thus 
I  felt  his  presence  in  his  own  domain, 
As  of  a  lord  and  master,  or  a  power, 
Or  genius,  under  Nature,  under  God, 
Presiding  ;  and  severest  solitude 
Had  more  commanding  looks  when  he  was  there." 

The  shepherd  would  be  helpless  without  his  dog, 
the  collie,  whose  astuteness  and  skill  can  hardly  be 
overstated.  The  trained  sheep  dog  learns  to  know 
every  individual  member  of  the  flock,  so  that  if  a 
straggler  goes  beyond  bounds,  he  will  reclaim  it ;  if 
an  intruder  enters  he  will  drive  it  out.  When  the 
flock  is  to  be  led  home,  he  gathers  the  scattered  por- 
tions into  a  compact  body  and  keeps  them  in  the 
way.  A  sagacious  dog  belonging  to  Hogg  once 
amazed  his  master  by  gathering  together  a  flock  of 
seven  hundred  lambs  which  had  broken  up  at  mid- 
night and  scattered  in  three  directions. 

The  collie  is  fitted  by  nature  with  special  qualifi- 
cations for  his  peculiar  work.  His  neck  is  long 
and  arched,  that  he  may  put  his  nose  well  to  the 
ground  and  stretch  it  when  running.  His  half 
pricked  ears  are  the  best  possible  for  distinguishing 
sounds  at  a  distance,  and  the  part  that  falls  over  pro- 
tects the  inner  ear  from  the  rain.  His  thick  coat 
is  proof  against  rain,  snow,  or  wind,  and  the  heavy 
mane  shields  the  most  vulnerable  part  of  his  chest, 
like  a  natural  lung  protector.  With  bare  hind  legs, 
long  and  springy,  he  can  make  his  way  easily  in  the 


THE   HIGHLAND   SHEPHERD'S   CHIEF  MOURNER     83 

heather.  The  long,  tapering  muzzle  gives  a  pecul- 
iarly intelligent  look  to  the  face.  An  authority  on 
dogs  says, ''  There  is,  if  the  expression  may  be  used, 
a  philosophic  look  about  him  which  shows  thought, 
patience,  energy,  and  vigilance." 

The  shepherd  and  his  dog  are  constant  compan- 
ions from  dawn  to  sunset,  sharing  the  responsibili- 
ties of  their  charge.  Common  hardships  seem  to 
knit  the  friendship,  and  the  tie  between  them  is  un- 
usually close.  We  can  easily  understand  that  a 
faithful  dog  deprived  of  his  master  would  mourn 
him  deeply.  Such  grief  is  the  subject  of  our  pic- 
ture, The  Highland  Shepherd's  Chief  Mourner. 

An  old  shepherd  living  alone  in  his  rude  cottage 
has  thrown  down  his  hat  and  staff  for  the  last  time. 
His  neighbors  have  prepared  his  body  for  decent 
burial,  the  cof&n  has  been  closed  and  nailed,  and 
now  stands  on  the  trestles  ready  for  removal.  The 
shepherd's  plaid  has  been  laid  over  it  as  a  sort  of 
pall,  and  a  bit  of  green  is  added  by  some  reverent 
hand.  For  the  moment  the  house  is  deserted,  and  the 
dog  is  left  alone  with  all  that  represents  his  master's 
life  to  him.  His  mute  grief  is  intensely  pathetic ; 
speech  could  not  express  more  plainly  his  utter  de- 
spair. 

A  beautiful  description  by  Ruskin  suggests  the  im- 
portant points  to  notice  in  the  picture,  —  "  the  close 
pressure  of  the  dog's  breast  against  the  wood,  the 
convulsive  clinging  of  the  paws,  which  has  dragged 
the  blanket  off  the  trestle,  the  total  powerlessness 
of  the  head  laid  close  and  motionless  upon  its  folds, 


84  LANDSEER 

the  fixed  and  tearful  fall  of  the  eye  in  its  utter  hope- 
lessness, the  rigidity  of  repose  which  marks  that  there 
has  been  no  motion  or  change  in  the  trance  of  agony 
since  the  last  blow  was  struck  on  the  cof&n-lid,  the 
quietness  and  gloom  of  the  chamber,  the  spectacles 
marking  the  place  where  the  Bible  was  last  closed, 
indicating  how  lonely  has  been  the  life  —  how  un- 
watched  the  departure  of  him  who  is  now  laid 
solitary  in  his  sleep." 

The  critic  shows  that  the  skill  with  which  the 
painting  is  executed,  remarkable  as  it  is,  is  not  so 
great  a  thing  to  praise  the  painter  for  as  the  imagi- 
nation which  could  conceive  so  pathetic  a  scene. 
The  picture  is,  he  says,  "  one  of  the  most  perfect 
poems  which  modern  times  have  seen." 

The  incident  which  Landseer  imagined  has  doubt- 
less many  a  parallel  in  actual  life.  There  is  a  story 
of  a  traveller  who  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  a  preci- 
pice near  Mt.  Helvellyn.  Three  months  later  his 
remains  were  discovered,  watched  over  by  the  faith- 
ful dog.  Scott's  poem  "  Helvellyn  "  commemorates 
the  incident,^  and  the  hue  telling  how  — 

"  Faithful  in  death,  his  mute  favorite  attended," 

expresses  well  the  spirit  of  our  picture. 

^  Wordsworth's  verses  on  Fidelity  apparently  refer  to  the  same 
story. 


XV 

A    LION  OF   THE   NELSON   MONUMENT 

Our  conception  of  the  range  of  Landseer's  art 
would  be  quite  inadequate  if  we  failed  to  notice  his 
studies  of  the  lion.  Though  his  works  on  this  sub- 
ject were  not  numerous,  he  was  all  his  life  greatly 
interested  in  the  noble  animal  called  the  king  of 
beasts.  As  a  boy,  he  used  to  visit  a  certain  mena- 
gerie called  Exeter  Change,  and  make  drawings  of 
the  beasts  there.  A  drawing  of  a  Senegal  lion, 
made  here  at  the  age  of  nine,  is  very  creditable. 
The  same  menagerie  furnished,  many  years  later,  the 
material  for  his  first  serious  lion  study.  One  of  the 
animals  having  died,  Landseer  obtained  the  body 
for  dissection.  His  methods  of  work  were  always 
thorough.  He  beheved  that  it  was  only  by  master- 
ing an  animal's  anatomy  that  a  painter  could  faith- 
fully reproduce  its  motions  and  attitudes.  The 
result  of  his  studies  on  this  occasion  was  an  interest- 
ing series  of  pictures,  —  A  Lion  disturbed  at  his  Re- 
past, A  Lion  enjoying  his  Repast,  and  A  Prowling 
Lion. 

Naturally  opportunities  for  dissecting  lions  were 
not  frequent,  and  the  painter  had  to  bide  his  time 
for  further  studies.     A  friend  who  could  help  him 


S6  LANDSEER 

in  this  respect  was  Mr.  Mitchell,  secretary  of  the 
Zoological  Society.  Whenever  the  secretary  hap- 
pened to  have  a  dead  lion  on  his  hands,  he  offered 
Landseer  the  first  chance  to  obtain  it.  An  amusing 
story  is  told  of  one  of  Mr.  Mitchell's  efforts  in  his 
friend's  behalf.  A  company  of  guests  was  gathered 
one  evening  at  Landseer's  house,  when  suddenly  a 
man  servant  appeared  at  the  drawing-room  door, 
and  quietly  asked,  "Did  you  order  a  lion,  sir?" 
The  inquiry  was  made  in  a  matter-of-fact  tone,  pre- 
cisely as  if  ordering  lions  were  an  every-day  affair, 
like  ordering  a  rib  of  beef,  or  a  leg  of  mutton. 
There  was  a  sensation  among  the  guests,  and  mucb 
merriment  was  caused  by  their  pretended  alarm. 
Tradition  says  that  Charles  Dickens  was  of  the  party, 
and  it  was  he  who  often  told  the  story  afterwards. 
As  it  proved,  Mr.  Mitchell  had  sent  the  painter  a 
lion  which  had  died  that  day  in  the  Zoological 
Garden  of  Regent's  Park. 

In  1859  Landseer  received  an  important  commis- 
sion from  the  English  government  requiring  all  his 
knowledge  of  the  lion.  His  task  was  to  model  some 
lions  to  ornament  the  Nelson  monument  in  Trafalgar 
Square,  London.  This  monument  had  been  erected 
more  than  fifteen  years  before  (1843),  in  memory  of 
the  admiral  under  whose  leadership  the  English  fleet 
had  won  their  victory  off  Cape  Trafalgar,  October 
21,  1805.  It  consisted  of  a  tall  granite  column 
surmounted  by  a  statue  of  Nelson.  To  make  the 
base  of  the  column  more  imposing,  it  now  seemed 
desirable  to  place  colossal  bronze  figures  of  lions  at 
the  four  corners. 


?i> 


A  LION  OF  THE  NELSON  MONUMENT  89 

With  characteristic  thoroughness,  the  artist  made 
his  preparatory  studies.  Two  of  these  are  rough 
sketches  on  canvas  in  the  National  Gallery  of  Lon- 
don, and  show  distinctly  the  original  data  for  his 
final  conception.  Apparently  they  are  studies  from 
menagerie  animals.  One  is  in  profile,  showing  the 
beast  as  he  creeps  in  snarling  discontent  within  the 
limited  area  of  his  cage.  The  other  sketch  has 
caught  the  attitude  of  the  animal  lifting  his  head  to 
scan  an  approaching  visitor.  In  these  two  studies, 
Landseer  obtained  the  proper  proportions  of  the  side 
face,  from  nosetip  to  ear,  and  the  length  of  the  front 
face,  from  the  crest  of  the  mane  to  the  lower  jaw. 
They  also  show  completely  the  manner  in  which  the 
mane  grows,  both  along  the  back  and  on  each  side 
the  face. 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  a  man  who  had 
been  all  his  life  a  painter  would  immediately  acquire 
proficiency  as  a  sculptor.  Landseer  had  his  lions 
under  way  nearly  ten  years,  and  in  the  mean  time 
practised  himself  in  the  new  art  by  modelling  the  fig- 
ure of  a  stag.  Certain  qualities  of  sculpture  he  had 
already  shown  in  some  of  his  paintings.  The  pose 
of  the  Newfoundland  dog:  called  A  Distino^uished 
Member  of  the  Humane  Society  is  conceived  in  the 
spirit  of  plastic  art.  So  also  is  The  Sleeping  Blood- 
hound. When  it  came,  therefore,  to  modelling  a 
figure,  the  artist  understood  well  how  to  secure  a 
monumental  pose.  In  this  point  his  work  is  especially 
successful. 

The  lion  lies  in  a  grand,  majestic  attitude.     The 


90  LANDSEER 

mane  rises  like  a  crown  on  his  brow,  and  falls  in 
splendid  masses  on  either  side  his  head.  The  mouth 
is  open,  and  the  expression  a  little  mild  for  dignity. 
One  is  reminded  of  the  tamed  spirit  of  the  mena- 
gerie captive  rather  than  of  the  proud  majesty  of  the 
animal  in  his  native  wilds.  A  work  of  this  sort 
must  necessarily  have  a  certain  stiffness  and  conven- 
tionality which  we  should  not  like  in  a  painting. 

It  is  said  that  Landseer  modelled  only  a  single 
figure,  and  the  others  were  cast  from  the  same  model 
with  slight  variations.  When  at  last  the  work  was 
completed,  the  colossal  figures  were  mounted  on 
huge  pedestals  radiating  diagonally  from  the  four 
corners  of  the  square  base  of  the  monument. 


/  XVI 

THE    CONNOISSEURS 

The  story  of  Landseer's  art  career  was  a  series 
of  continuous  successes  from  his  precocious  boyhood 
to  his  honored  old  age.  He  was  an  exhibitor  at  the 
Royal  Academy  when  he  was  in  his  teens,  and  early 
in  his  twenties  he  was  successful  enough  in  his  pro- 
fession to  set  up  an  establishment  of  his  own.  He 
then  took  a  small  house  in  a  pleasant  part  of  London 
known  as  St.  John's  Wood,  and  fitted  up  the  barn 
into  a  studio.  The  place  was  called  Maida  Villa,  as 
a  compliment  to  the  famous  staghound  which  was 
Sir  Walter  Scott's  favorite  dog.  Here  Landseer 
lived,  like  Sir  Walter  himself,  surrounded  by  dogs. 
He  never  married,  and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Mackenzie, 
was  for  many  years  his  housekeeper. 

His  life  was,  of  course,  a  very  busy  one,  filled 
with  commissions  which  came  much  more  rapidly 
than  he  could  execute  them.  His  house  was  en- 
larged as  his  means  permitted,  and  became  a  delight- 
ful resort  for  many  favored  guests.  The  painter 
was  of  a  frank  nature,  genial  and  kindly  among  his 
friends,  witty  in  conversation,  and  a  clever  mimic. 
An  invitation  to  one  of  his  parties  was  a  privilege. 
Many  were   the  distinguished  patrons   who  visited 


92  LANDSEER 

his  studio  ;  even  the  royal  carriages  were  sometimes 
seen  standing  at  the  door  of  Maida  Villa. 

His  work  was  duly  rewarded  with  the  proper 
honors.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  the  painter 
was  elected  to  membership  in  the  Royal  Academy, 
and  twenty  years  later  he  was  knighted.  Thereafter 
he  was  known  as  Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  probably  the 
most  popular  painter  of  his  day. 

He  is  described  as  a  man  of  heavy  figure,  six  feet 
in  height,  with  a  weather-beaten  countenance.  He 
used  to  wear  a  sober  gray  tweed  suit,  and  had  the 
general  appearance  of  an  English  country  gentle- 
man.    His  movements  were  quick  and  energetic. 

Our  portrait  shows  him  at  the  age  of  sixty-two, 
when  his  beard  was  white.  His  face  is  attractive 
because  of  the  kindly  expression,  but  it  is  by  no 
means  handsome.  The  redeeming  feature  is  the 
high  broad  forehead,  the  sign  of  the  fine  poetic 
temperament  of  which  so  many  of  his  works  are 
proof. 

It  was  characteristic  of  Landseer  to  paint  his  por- 
trait with  his  dogs.  Neither  the  man  nor  his  art 
can  be  separated  from  the  animal  to  which  he  devoted 
his  best  gifts.  The  dogs  give  the  title  to  the  pic- 
ture, and  with  the  genial  humor  natural  to  the 
painter,  he  represents  himself  as  the  subject  of  their 
criticism.  Holding  his  sketch-book  across  his  knees, 
he  appears  to  be  making  a  pencil  study  of  some  dog 
subject,  while  over  each  shoulder  peers  the  grave 
face  of  a  canine  "  Connoisseur."  The  dog  at  the 
painter's  right  seems  to  express  approval,  while  his 


THE  CONNOISSEURS  93 

more  critical  comrade  on  the  other  side  reserves 
judgment  till  the  picture  is  completed. 

It  would  appear  that  Landseer's  dog  pictures  were 
faithful  enough  to  satisfy  the  judgment  of  the  origi- 
nals. "  We  cannot  help  believing/'  writes  an  ad- 
miring critic/  "  that  the  manner  in  which  Landseer 
drew  the  forms  and  expressed  the  character  of  the 
canine  race  would  have  been  rewarded  with  the 
gratitude,  if  not  the  full  satisfaction  of  such  a  critic. 
.  .  .  On  the  whole,  seeing  that  he  was  but  a  man 
[the  Connoisseurs]  must,  we  fancy,  have  allowed 
that  he  was  a  good  artist,  a  fair  judge  of  character, 
and  meant  kindly  by  them." 

The  honors  bestowed  upon  Landseer  culminated 
at  the  time  of  his  death  in  the  magnificent  funeral 
ceremonies  attending  his  burial  at  St.  Paul's  Church, 
London.  His  body  was  laid  near  those  of  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  Turner,  Fuseli,  and  other  famous 
English  painters.  In  the  memorial  sermon  follow- 
ing the  funeral,  the  painter's  character  was  fittingly 
summed  up  in  a  few  lines  from  Coleridge's  "  An- 
cient Mariner." 

"  He  prayeth  well  who  loveth  well 
Both  man  and  bird  aud  beast, 

"  He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best 
All  things,  both  great  and  small, 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us 
He  made  and  loveth  all." 

1  Cosmo  Monkhouse. 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 

U    .    S    .    A 


s:^ 


Webster  Faff%  Uirary  of  Veterinary  Medkarfe 

dwrnidngs  Sdiod  of  Veterinary  Medicine  ^< 

Tufts  University 

200  V\festboro  Road 

Morth  Grafton,  MA  01536 


